As The Raven Dreams Podcast - ATRD Ep. 170 - Online Dating Stories & Other True Scary Stories From Listeners

Episode Date: April 3, 2025

Today, on the 170th episode of the As The Raven Dreams podcast, we have 8 True Chilling stories. These stories come from the shadowy corners of reality, where everyday life takes an eerie twist & ordinary people experience the extraordinary. Today we will be diving into some terrifying online dating stories as well as some miscellaneous true scary stories from listeners. If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like or rate the podcast, and leave me a comment with your thoughts if the platform your own supports it! Scary story episodes 2 to 3 times a week (New stories On Wed/Fri, Comps/remasters on Sundays) If you have a story to submit, would like to find where to listen to the podcast, or want to find me on social media platforms, all of that info can be found at https://www.astheravendreams.com You can also send stories into my subreddit (r/theravensdream) or email them to me at [e-mail] Want to check out some ATRD Podcast Merch? ➤ https://teechip.com/stores/astheravendreams Or for signed merch ➤ https://ko-fi.com/AsTheRavenDreams I wrote a novel, "The Insomniac's Experiment" by Raven Adams! Check it out on amazon (Or you can email me for a signed copy!) Join Patreon to get early access and support the Podcast! ➤ https://www.patreon.com/AsTheRavenDreams Check out my gaming channel with my pal Ghost_Ink ➤ @superNefariousBros On YouTube Disclaimer ➤ Episodes include a content warning for language and sensitive/disturbing content. Listener discretion is always advised. ALL Audio and visuals on this podcast are copyright of AS THE RAVEN DREAMS / RAVEN ADAMS and may not be duplicated, in any format. Bless This Mess. #AsTheRavenDreams #TrueScaryStories #GlitchInTheMatrix Thank you to all of the authors that have stories in todays episode... Sarena, Riddhi, Kevin Teague , GotACatInstead, Tanner, KTwasCrayZee... As Well As Any Author That Has Requested Anonymity. TimeStamps… 2 ➤ 12:20 3 ➤ 21:50 4 ➤ 29:00 5 ➤ 42:02 6 ➤ 50:38 7 ➤ 58:43 8 ➤ 1:03:52 Midroll after the 1st story and at around 42 Min. ----- #TrueScaryStories #AsTheRavenDreams #GlitchInTheMatrix #RedditStories And Remember; You are loved, you are important, and you are valid. Never let anyone tell you otherwise. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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And as always, thank you. Being single during the pandemic made me realize just how bored and lonely I was. I lived alone at the time, so I spent a lot of days at home with little interaction with the outside world. So, in 2021, I started feeling better about things and wanted to start looking for someone again. I started with the few dating apps and told myself not to get my own. hopes up too high. Even if I just found some new friends to talk to, I would be happy. That's where I met James. We matched, and I was digging his bio. He was attractive but didn't look overdone. He had a good job as a software engineer. He seemed to share a lot of similar

interests that I did. His photos showed him playing board games surrounded by people. There was a cool scenic picture of him on a dirt bike up in the canyons, among other normal profile pictures. We talked for about two weeks, and he seemed like a really down-to-earth guy. He was funny and explained how he was pretty competitive with board games, but said that Pictionary was his weakness since he couldn't draw. He even asked me about my hobbies and what I was interested in. He was engaged in the conversation the entire time, and never got inappropriate or pushy.

So when he asked if I wanted to meet up for coffee at a popular local cafe, I felt completely comfortable saying yes. We planned to meet that following Saturday in a public place, with lots of people around and totally safe. I mean, he suggested the place too, so I had no qualms about it. It was about an hour before our date, and he messaged me with some bad news. news. He asked if I would be willing to change venues because the cafe we had planned on going to

was temporarily closed due to a COVID exposure. This was believable at the time, too. I had never been there, so I did a quick search of the area. It was in a fairly busy area and had good reviews, so I agreed. It was still public, so I was fine with it. It's not like he had control over the closure anyways. I arrived a little early as I normally do and figured that I would go on ahead and get a good table where we could have a little privacy. From the outside, it was a cozy looking shop that was attached to a small strip mall. But the inside was not what I was expecting.

It was technically, open, sure, but it was completely empty except for one elderly barista who looked half asleep. It was unusual to see a coffee place so empty around 11 o'clock in the morning. The ones that I typically frequented had a decent amount of people coming and going at all hours, but maybe this was just a slower hour for them. Still, I ordered a small latte in case everything went well and I wanted to stay longer. I grabbed a seat in the front corner and waited. Shortly after, I got a text from James.

saying that he was running a little late. No problem. I just did something on my phone to kill the time. After 15 minutes passed, I texted him to ask if everything was still good and then didn't get a response. After 30 minutes, I was a mix of annoyed, disappointed, and concerned. Yeah, maybe I was stood up, but also, could something have happened to him? I texted him one more time and told him that we could just try. again later, and prepared to leave.

When the door chime finally alerted me that someone else was here. It was James. But it's not what I was expecting, either. James certainly didn't look like his photos. If I had to guess, he was probably closer to mid or late 40s rather than early 30s. He was also much heavier, and even his hair was a different color. In his photos, he had that nearly blueish black colored hair, but sitting in front of me he had almost a copper-brown color.

I get that people lose and gain weight, but looking at him more, even his jawline looked different. My face must have shown my suspicion because he apologized, claiming that his photos were a little older, and that he had gained some COVID weight. Obviously, they were. old photos, which, yes, I did have a problem with. I mean, have all the old photos of yourself, but have something current, too.

Because I know plenty of others would have had the same problem if I had done the same thing. I used to have really long hair, but after a bit of a breakdown, I shaved half my head and dyed it. And I know some people aren't into that, so I changed my profile picture to be as current as possible. It's the least I can do when on apps like this so people know what to expect. Regardless, I wasn't going to be rude, nor was it a deal breaker for me, so I wasn't going to leave. I stayed and hoped that we could still get that same friendly conversation we had going on via text prior. But the conversation was not the same, and, in fact, was strapped. range from the start.

He kept asking oddly specific questions about where I lived, my day-to-day life. He even asked if I lived alone. When I gave vague answers, he would press for detail. Certainly not how James acted in the texts. So I tried to shift the focus on him. I asked him about his work and what he specifically did, but his story kept changing. First, he said he worked at Microsoft, and then claimed he was only on a contract with them, but he actually worked at a local tech startup, and then said he was, quote, between jobs.

Every time I called out an inconsistency, he would quickly change the subject. About 45 minutes in, I decided that I'd had enough. He couldn't be honest with me, so I didn't owe him any more of my time. I made an excuse about needing to leave, and he offered to walk me to my car. Then he grabbed my elbow. Something about the way that he grabbed me and said that made my hair stand. I don't know why, but I lied, and told him that I hadn't driven and had just taken an Uber. But to confirm my bad feelings, he chuckled and said,

You sure you didn't drive the blue Honda Civic? If he was late, there was no way he would have known what I drove. I tried my best to not show my surprise and laughed saying that it was a good guess, but no, reaffirming that I had an Uber. He started me for several long seconds, like a parent trying to catch their child in a lie. I looked down at my phone and motioned to it, claiming that my Uber text me that they had arrived. I told him that I would text him later and rushed out the door. Instead of going to my car, though, I speedwalked down that little strip and into the bookstore further down. I went down one of the aisles so I couldn't be seen from the front window.

After several minutes, probably looking shady myself, looking around, I bought a keychain out of guilt and left the store. I walked back to my car looking all over for him, but I didn't see him anywhere, thankfully. But there, under my wiper blade, was a napkin with sloppy writing on it that said, You shouldn't lie to people. Yes, this was creepy, but also, what room did he have to talk about lying? He couldn't even be honest about his job or send me a more current photo of himself. I got in my car looking around once more, but noticed the parking lot was just as empty as it was when I got there. Once I was back in the safety of my own home, I texted him everything I was thinking.

I told him I wasn't interested in seeing him anymore, since he couldn't even be honest with me in person. But before I could even finish my text, he texted me, and it was ugly. He said that I was rude and shallow, and pointed out how I lied about the car thing again. He then made the You Women Are All the Same comment claiming I was shallow and that I wouldn't have given him a chance if he used a real picture of himself

practically admitting that those weren't even old photos but someone completely different. I was willing to still talk to him even though he looked different because I still liked him as a person. Hell, I'm not the most fit or slim person either.

That's why I said it wasn't a big deal. What was, a big deal, was that he lied and he obviously was lying about his job. What else would he be willing to lie about? Was his real name even James? But the berating didn't end there. No, it ended with him saying, and I guess trigger warning here, that I was lucky he didn't slash my tires, or worse, my throat.

I deleted the message and didn't even bother responding. I reported him on the dating app, blocked him on there and his phone number, who gets so upset by a rejection that they would threaten someone's life. I actually didn't get back on that app, and, in fact, went back to being by myself for a bit after that. I was too freaked out knowing that he was out there, and had to live relatively close if the place we went to was about 25 minutes from me. He also knew what I drove. Would he be willing to follow through on that threat?

Was he following me to places? I wasn't willing to take that risk. I told several people in my circle about it just in case, and did my best not go anywhere alone. Thankfully, nothing happened after that. I did get some random anonymous phone calls, but the few that I did answer, they would just hang up. I don't know if it was him calling from a blocked number or whatever, but if so, at least it wasn't anything else.

While part of me wants to just say good riddance, I find myself hoping that he got the help that he needed to fight his inner demons and build his self-confidence. The genuine kind person that I met in the beginning makes me want to believe that that was his true self. At least it's easier to hold on to that hope than to consider the more terrifying possibility that it was all in act by a sociopath. I've been sitting on this story for a little while now because it honestly still gives me that absolute creepy feeling when I think about it.

But after thinking about it and listening to some of the other stories you've told, I decided that I should go ahead and just get it over with, move forward and shared with you. I'm sure some people will say that I'm overreacting when I say that it's scared the hell out of me, but I don't really care. Unless you've gone through these kinds of situations, you really don't know how to react. In the end, it doesn't matter, though, so let's get on with the story.

This happened about three years back, when I was living in a pretty rural area. I'd been in the house where I was living for a couple years. I didn't own it, but I was renting it out from someone that was a friend of my family. It was rural, like completely surrounded by the woods, kind of rural. I personally loved it. It was cozy, quiet, peaceful, and just the right amount of isolation. Of course, this isolation was always kind of eerie, but my enjoyment of it outweighed how much it bothered me. It was around 11 p.m., and I was heading home after hanging out with some of my friends.

The drive back was uneventable, just the usual dark roads, a deer or two running around. Nothing unusual. When I pulled into my driveway, the motion sensor light flicked on as I got out of my car. I had installed a few lights outside that were motion sensors, mostly for my own sanity and security. They were just small lights that lit up small parts of the yard, depending on where you were walking, and it helped to light certain paths to get to spots on the property. Anyway, I grabbed my stuff from the car, locked it up, and headed inside.

This is where it started to get weird. I'd been home for maybe 20, 30 minutes just sitting on the couch and watching something on Netflix, thinking that I needed to get to bed at some point. I am a bit of a night owl, though. When I heard a noise outside. It wasn't anything too crazy, just a bit of rustling like leaves or brush being disturbed. My immediate thought was a raccoon, deer, or some other small animal just doing its thing. But then it happened again, and a third time.

It was a bit louder each time. I muted the TV and listened to it, and after just taking in the sound, I realized that it was coming from the side of the house, the west-facing side, which was pretty much right up to the woods. And based on what I was hearing, it didn't sound like something small, like I had initially thought. Of course, my mind went to the worst horror movie possibilities.

There was someone out there. I kept trying to tell myself that it wasn't a person. This was the middle of nowhere. But I just had this deep down feeling that there was somebody out there. So I grabbed my phone and clicked on the flashlight on it, then walked over to the window to peek outside. The motion lights didn't light up this side of the house, so it was pretty dark out there, minus the moonlight,

and I couldn't see anything. But when I got to the window, I could very much hear that something was out there moving the brush. Part of me wanted to freak out, thinking this was how I was going to die. The isolation, despite it being a comfort, can definitely amplify those silly fears like this. I really don't know why, but part of me wanted to run out and confront whoever or whatever this was, but I didn't.

I did, however, yell out, hey, who's there? As soon as I did, the rustling went quiet for a few moments, like I had scared whoever it was. But that didn't last long. When the rustling stopped, I made my way to the kitchen and grabbed a knife. And within a few moments, I heard what sounded like tapping. or scratching on the window, like someone was trying to break the exterior screen. After a few more moments, I heard more rustling, and then what sounded like scratching at the window. It was at this point that I was pretty certain that whoever this was trying to break into my house.

I pulled my phone out, and I called my neighbor, who was a friend of mine, and even though there was some distance between he and I, I knew that he'd be able to get to my house in less than five minutes. much quicker than the police. And I knew that he would be awake, too, since he was part of the group that I was hanging out with. I told him that I was pretty certain somebody was trying to break in. Explain the whole thing as calmly as I could. All the while, I'm just watching this window

and waiting for some psycho to jump out at me. He kept me on the phone while I just stood there in the hallway holding a knife, hoping I didn't have to use it. It was at this point that I realized the sound had actually stopped, When I saw his headlights in my driveway, I ran to the front door, knife and hand, and then ran out to where he was. He asked me if I saw the guy, if I knew where he went, basically trying to figure out what exactly was going on. I told him that I hadn't, but that I knew he was at the side window. The two of us slowly crept over to the side of the house, then he rifled around in the bush that was there.

He then grabbed a decent-sized pocket knife from right there on the ground. Well, that explained why it sounded like this person was prying or scratching at the screen, though it didn't really look that damaged. Then as I shined my flashlight around, he pointed out that there were footprints in the mud. These weren't shoe prints or animal prints. These were human footprints. Like, whoever was at my window wasn't... wearing shoes.

It may not be relevant to the story, but it does highlight how confused and scared I was of the whole thing. But when I saw the human footprints, my brain immediately thought I was dealing with some kind of mini-sacquatch or something, completely ignoring the whole pocket knife that was literally right there. My friend told me that he would go check it out and told me to stay where I was, but I immediately refuted that, saying that I didn't want to be left alone anywhere near. this situation. He reluctantly agreed, and told me to follow him.

We both followed these footsteps, him pulling out his own pocket flashlight and shining it on the trail. We followed it from the house to the woods, and as we got to the woods, we found what looked like a small makeshift camp, sort of. There were no tents or anything, but there were a few boxes smashed down on the ground, a pile of magazines, most of them adult content, a shoebox full of McDonald's cheeseburger wrappers and cigarette butts, and the thing that freaked me out the most, a box of condoms.

Now, they may not seem like much to some people, but to me it was an indicator that this guy had very sinister intentions. It felt like this person had made up a small area on my property for themselves, and it hit me at that point in time that I was probably, being watched for a few days. The food wrappers, the cigarette butts, and the stomped-down cardboard that looked like a makeshift bed,

it made me think that he'd been there for a while. And the fact that he was at my window told me that he was getting brazen in his actions. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I could see the forest through the trees, and I could see that this guy was going to do something horrible, and I was very close to being a victim. My neighbor and I went back to my house and went inside.

He swept the place to make sure this creep hadn't somehow gotten in. We then called the cops to file a report, and I gave them permission to check the surrounding property for the guy. I practically begged them to do so, actually. So to wrap this up, because I have gone on a bit, they didn't find the guy, which tells me that he left his stuff and just took off through the woods to get away. I'm actually thankful that he took the opportunity to leave, because he knew that I saw him in the window, and he was very much trying to pry my window open.

I just think that maybe he freaked out for whatever reason. I actually stayed with my neighbor for a few days, and he and I went out and found some decent security cameras for the property, something that I wish that I had prior, but never thought about since the property was so isolated. I never saw the guy again. He never came back to set up another camping spot, and I haven't had any more issues. Hopefully, that's the new norm, and hopefully this never happens again. I found her channel six months ago,

and I absolutely love it. Keep up the awesome work. Thank you. Here is my story. Living in the rich purple mountains of Colorado equates in my mind, the guarantee of adventure. These picturesque mountains,

the endless fishing spots, the pine trees that span miles across unpopulated land, it's the dreamscape of someone truly wanting to get away. Simply put, this is why I left behind the corporate grind, bought an off-grid cabin on 21 acres

on Oak Creek grade, in central Colorado. It had no running water or electricity, but best of all, No neighbors. I was a young mom with two kids, ages one and two respectively. It was 20 miles to the closest town, which was roughly an hour's drive, being a relatively poorly maintained dirt road that wound its way over steep hills, switchbacks, rivers, and

eventually into town. It was an August morning. I was heading into town in my truck. It was a single cab truck with no big. back seats. I had my youngest, who was mentioned, was no more than a year old in the middle. Between the two seats, while my oldest was in the passenger seat. They were both in car seats, however.

I didn't buckle them into them. Safety measures back in the day were not as significant as they are now. I know that I should have fastened them in, and I know that I should have been wearing my seat belt as well, but when you're young, you never think that something could. could ever happen. After all, it was summer on a slow, dry road, what could possibly go wrong? After 45 to 50 minutes into the drive, we got to the end of the steep hills and switchbacks where the road was more gentle.

The hills were not so tight in the curves. I caught up to this car that was going 20 miles per hour. I followed it for a while, looking for the next place I could pass it, which I did. albeit just a little too fast. The road ramped up at the high side of the turn and I was skidding across the washboards quicker than I could gain control. I caught a glimpse of my kids sleeping in their car seats and I remember that I had left them unbuckled.

We were sliding in motion towards an embankment. In a split-second response, I reeled the steering wheel back towards the driver's side, trying to avoid the impact being on the side of my truck that my kids were on. Then, existence seemed to slow to a near pause. We hit the embankment, and my truck started to roll. I could see clumps of grass, branches, dirt, the sky, followed by more dirt. It was an absolutely unholy sound, a surreal mixture of collapsing metal, cracking glass,

and gravel settling from being kicked up during the destruction. In the blink of an eye, I felt myself moving backwards, through the back windows, yet I still saw myself in the driver's seat. It was like my consciousness was being pulled backwards through the seats towards the bed of the truck. By the time I had reached the bed of the truck, I was looking inside through the back window like I had front row seats. I looked down and I saw muscular arms holding on to me below the shoulders.

They were pearl iridescent colored, translucent with this acrylic pore-like texture emanating through, or perhaps beyond the arms. Multiple thoughts and questions raced to my mind as I tried to turn around and see who or what they belonged to. Not a word was spoken between us, but I knew I was being given a choice. choice. There was the essence of having no time, so in a sudden reaction, a spur-of-the-moment response to the being's hypothetical question, I screamed, my kids, in my mind, not me, save my kids. Next thing I knew, I was thrust back through the back window like being pushed forward down a hill. I was back in the driver's seat glancing towards my kids who were now tightly being held within the

same arms that held me just a second prior. For a brief moment, I swore I saw his face, between a tirade of more dirt, rocks, branches, and then just as quickly as it started, everything stopped. According to police reports, we had rolled about five times and landed about 30 feet off the road up on the hill, before the truck had settled back on its wheels. the, for lack of a better term, man who had held on to me and then my children was gone, not a trace of anyone or anything. They were both looking at me crying with these terrorized little faces.

I looked down at my hands and there was blood everywhere. In a panic, I looked them both over, and to my amazement, they were fine, untouched. I moved the rearview mirror around to see myself. It looked like I had been scalped. The skin and hair about two inches on each side of my forehead, right at the hairline, was where the blood was from. The lady I had just passed was now coming around the corner, catching up to where we had just rolled. She stopped and asked if we were all okay.

She had a look of terror across her face. I took a few moments to collect myself and then helped the kids get out. She kindly gave us a ride to town and dropped us off where my boyfriend worked. I ended up having to have around 100 stitches, but both kids didn't even have a scratch. Even after thorough examination, they were unharmed in the incident. Call him a guardian angel, or whatever fits the bill, but he saved both of my babies from any harm. It is an impossible moment to correctly place into words just something that, transcends description.

If but just a handful of seconds, a minute at most, rich in too many details and yet not enough details at the same time. From then on, I made very much sure to buckle both myself and my kids in. To this day, they don't seem to remember it happening, but it's a memory that will never leave me for as long as I live. A few years back, I had been casually using a few dating apps in the hopes to not feel so alone. I had some pretty casual encounters, but never really found anyone that stuck, but really no hard feelings on either end. That is, until I matched with this girl named Nicole on Hinge.

Her profile was perfect. She was beautiful. She had a successful career in marketing, and she just seemed. seemed incredibly genuine. Her photos were a nice mix of professional shots and casual moments with friends on vacation. As we talked, I could tell that she was being real. She spoke her mind. She was open about herself and life, and that was just through the chat and phone calls.

She even made me comfortable enough to ask her out for drinks, and luckily she agreed. I guess eagerness isn't all. always a good thing. We met up at a local brewery, and from the start, our conversations were pretty intense. She told me more about her day-to-day life, her work.

I even already knew the coworkers that she couldn't stand. There wasn't an ounce of shyness in her, and her energy rubbed off on me too. She asked a lot of questions about my life, which, of course, I initially took as genuine, interest. But looking back nowadays, I noticed how she particularly focused on questions about the women in my life. My mom, my sister, even my eight-year-old niece. I remember talking about them a lot,

and her making comments about how you must really care for them. And I did. My niece was my first and only, and I adored her as if she was my own child. As she, she was my own child. As she, she asked about them, it felt nice that she wanted to know just as much about me and my family as she told me about hers. Honestly, she was just like her profile, if not better in person. And I just remember thinking that I'd hit the jackpot. I could have really seen a life with her. But the next day, something weird happened. Nicole had actually popped up in my Facebook suggestions as having multiple mutual friends. I was surprised because nothing had come up that night that she knew anyone in my circle.

So I tapped on her profile. To my surprise, she was friends with my sister, my mom, two of my cousins, and a few of my close friends. I've always been close with my sister, so she texted me that morning teasing me about not telling her about my new girlfriend. I asked her about Nicole, and she told me how she got the request but didn't add her immediately until she messaged her. Nicole told her that we were dating, so she accepted it. I knew my mom would just add anyone, but I didn't know about my cousin or my friends. I just told myself to ask them about it later. It was unexpected, but not really an issue, especially since she hadn't yet made it weird.

I did bring it up to Nicole, however, mentioning how she came up and how we had several mutual friends. She confessed that she did look me up because she wanted to get to know my world and life better. I thought it was a jump, in all honesty. I mean, we'd only been on one date, but she was the one that claimed we were dating, so I guess that was a good sign, right? She wasn't weird about it, and if she did want the... this to be more than a casual night out, then I guess it was sweet of her to reach out to others that I cared about, so I brushed it off. Our second date was a bit more personal as we had

dinner and saw a movie. Nicole was more intimate, in the sense that she was holding my arm and hand, hugging me a lot, a lot of physical touching, and we kissed after I dropped her off at her place. She even told me that she really liked me and hoped that I felt the same way as she did, and that she wanted to make this more of an official thing. I agreed in a heartbeat, and that night, I was an incredible state of mind, smiling all the way home as I went to bed. But then, the next day, things got weird. My ex-girlfriend, Crystal, from four years prior, mind you, messaged me. She said that Nicole had messaged her and was asking a lot of detailed questions about our relationship and why it ended.

Crystal and I had ended things amicably. We drifted apart and just had different opinions and goals in life. We were both upset for a while, but we realized that we still worked great as friends, and that's how we've always remained. There really were no heart feelings, no weird tension or drama. So, she was honest with Nicole, but She also wanted to let me know because, as she put it, women can be pretty possessive. So just a heads up.

And then she sent screenshots of the conversation. It was a bit alarming, to be honest, not to mention a bit embarrassing. But I apologized and then thanked her for letting me know. I did confront Nicole about it that evening, as I thought that was a bit extra, and definitely unnecessary. We didn't even talk on a regular basis. In fact, after thinking it over, the only way she could have connected Crystal to being an ex

is through some of my old photo albums on Facebook of us together. Of course, I added her on Facebook too, so she would have had access to all of my pictures as well. When I brought it up to her, I was surprised that she immediately broke down crying. She said that due to her previous relationships, she just wanted to make sure that I was truly over her and that there wouldn't be any surprises in our relationship. We had a small argument about boundaries, but I also made sure that she understood that there wasn't anything between us anymore. In fact, Crystal was even engaged.

I told her that just as she wanted, we needed to be open and honest with each other, and next time she should just be just. come to me and talk to me about it. She seemed to understand that she had crossed the line, and we moved past it quite easily. She even invited me to her place that night where she made us dinner, and we had a great night together. I thought maybe she had some issues with jealousy, as she mentioned her past relationships,

so I didn't feel like it was a deal-breaker. I truly thought that it was something we could get past together. But, alas, a few days later, Crystal called me in a panic. She told me that Nicole was now sending her threatening messages, demanding that she removed me as a friend and never talked to me again as I had moved on. She sent me more screenshots, and the messages were just unhinged, and were nothing like the Nicole that I had thought I had grown to know. She called Crystal horrible names and threatened her life if she didn't comply.

She even sent screenshots of Crystal's work in apartment complex. How did she find all of that in such a short time? I apologize to Crystal and promised that I would handle it. This was clearly a massive red flag. Jealousy is one thing, and even something I could work around, but threatening people, that was unacceptable. I called Nicole and I confronted her about the whole thing. At first, she really tried to deny it,

blaming Crystal for staging the whole thing because she was the jealous one. I told her that she had sent me the screenshots, and that's when things shifted. First, she tried crying and apologizing again, saying that she was just being protective. I told her that it was not being protective because she should have just trusted me. and if we didn't have that trust, then it wasn't going to work. So, I ended it on that call. First, she begged me, and when that didn't work, she became angry. And the last thing she did say to me was,

You'll regret this, Tanner, and hung up. Kind of creepy, especially her tone, but at least it was done. I hate it. I hated myself, but I knew things would only get worse if I kept her around. round. I called and texted anyone that had added her on Facebook, asking them to remove her, and that's when I learned that my other friends and cousins didn't know who she was, and had just added her. So, another lie that she fed me, claiming to know them. Oh well, it was done, and maybe we could all move on now. Instead, things got worse. The next day, I got a call from my

sister while at work. She was hysterical, saying that someone had showed up to my niece's school claiming to be her aunt, trying to pick her up. When the school called my sister to verify and described the woman who was there, it matched

Nicole to a tea. Now she was messing with my family. My sister was going to call the cops, but she agreed to let me handle it first. Once again, I called Nicole and her reason was that she wanted to prove that she could be a good mother to our future kids.

Mind you, we'd been seeing each other for less than a month. I told her once again in no uncertain terms that we were done, and to never contact me or my family and friends again. I even said that if she ever tried anything like this again, I would contact the police and file a restraining order. but before she would finally give up, she had to make things even worse. She'd made multiple accounts on Facebook to try and monitor me and my family. She was even trying to contact any females on my friends list,

telling them to leave me alone because she was my fiancé. She sent emails to my work through a corporate contact email, claiming that I had inappropriate relationships with coworkers. She even tried telling my mom that I had a secret drug problem and that's why she left me. Obviously, there was no proof for any of this. I had actually made a post on Facebook explaining what happened with her so no one fell for it. My mom trusted me over this random woman, and my boss was actually a really good friend of mine, so that went nowhere.

That one was just embarrassing because it all had to be cleared with HR too. I did end up filing a restraining order, and when they told me that they had provided her the details too, everything stopped. I stayed off of dating apps for a few months after that, but when I logged back into Hinge, her whole profile was gone, like it was deleted. Maybe she'd been reported by others on there as well, who knows. All I know is that she seemed to finally get the hint. and my life could go back to how it was. But it was just wild to me that she seemed so normal. If you met her, you would never guess that she was capable of all that.

She was charming, successful, independent, and incredibly sweet. At first. Hell, I know from what my little sister knew of her, she liked her too. And I'm sure that she and my niece would have gotten along. But some people just have unhealthy obsessions that they probably should conquer first, before finding that special someone. Hi, Raven, I wanted to tell you about my spooky experience at my old workplace. I don't work there now, not because the ghosts, but because my managers were the real living nightmares.

Anyways, I'm not much of a storyteller, so please be nice. nice. I used to be a venue manager at an events venue in the northeast of England. I always knew from when I first started there as bar staff that there were plenty of spirits in the building. Staff and customers had various experiences, seeing spirits, having things thrown at them, hearing footsteps. There's even a YouTube video of a known medium walking around the venue before my time. It also confirms a lot of the stories. The building used to be an old cinema

and all things in between before that was built. It was a market. Someone told me that there was a tragic fire and there was a lot of death. I haven't been able to confirm this online, but there were a lot of children at the market one day when a big fatal fire broke out. Fire safety was not as much of a thing back then,

so when there was a rush to an exit, the doors unfortunately opened inward so everyone was desperately pushing to get out. It was impossible to get the door opened, so a lot of lives were lost that day. That's what the rumor mill says anyway. The children stuck around the place, though, and liked to pull pranks on the staff.

One time, our then manager brought a pineapple to work. It was a bit of a running joke for the staff, You had to be there and all that. Anywho, she left it on top of the bar, and we all went to the office to get sorted for the shift, when we heard a strange thud. The pineapple had been splattered in center of the dance floor, nowhere near the bar.

The ghost children were clearly feeling a little naughty that day. The staff always spoke to the spirits, and were always respectful. If you weren't a believer when you started, They were sure to make one out of you. Although we had some friendly ghosts, we did have the presence of a few not-so-friendly ghosts. There was one major fire exit that the staff would refuse to go down alone. As soon as you went there, specifically if you were a female,

you would just be overcome with the sense of not being welcome. The hairs on the back of your neck would stand up and you could feel eyes watching your every move. Some of the staff had things thrown at them in that fire exit too, so as much as there was the playful, harmless spirits, let's just say you would hope you didn't come across the other kind. I unfortunately caught the attention of one of the undesirables one night. We were all cleaned and locked up after a busy weekend. I had two more tills to cash up, and then I had to count the safe, and then I would be on my way, 20 minutes top. One of my colleagues offered to stay in wait with me so I wasn't alone, but I said it would be okay. Plus, my then-boyfriend would be coming to pick me up, so I wouldn't be by myself for too long.

Are you sure? I don't mind waiting, she said. No, honestly, I'll be fine, I replied. Get yourself away home and thank you for your hard work this weekend. With a smile, she grabbed her bag, and I let her out the side door before locking it back up. I headed straight to the office to finish the last of the cashing up. 50, 60, 70, I counted, fully focused and happy that I was almost done. Then, I heard what sounded like a chair being moved. I froze, ears pricking up.

The office sits directly behind the bar, so I didn't have a view of the venue at all. Did my colleague forget something? Was it just the creeks of the old venue? you. It's late, so it was probably just my mind playing games, I said, trying to reassure myself. 80, 90, bang. The swinging bar door leading to the office had been slammed open. I couldn't see it, but I knew that sound.

Thinking someone had come to rob the bar, I threw myself onto the office door, grabbed the lock on the inside, and bolted myself in. My heart was pounding. My eyes willing with tears, I couldn't breathe. I was trapped, alone in a locked venue with an unknown stranger with unknown intentions. I completely froze. My hand clenched so hard on the lock to the point that my knuckles turned white, just listening intensely for the intruder's next move.

The silence was deafening. I took a breath and stepped back from the locked door. That couldn't have been in my head, but there was no way that anyone could have gotten in. I checked the venue. Security checked the venue. What do I even do? It's like five in the morning. Who do I even call?

Okay, dude, I think. I decided I needed a plan to get out of this situation. I text my boyfriend and told him what was happening. He was still ten minutes away and he thought that I was just messing with him. The chair I could brush off, as my mind just playing tricks, but the door slamming like that? No way. I had not heard anything since the bang. As I sat on the cold floor weighing up my options, I decided if maybe they had simply left.

I got on my hands and knees to see if I could see any movement from the gap between the door and the floor. Nothing. After a hot moment, I shouted in an unconvincing tone, and, hey, whoever you are, I hope that you realize the police are on their way. Again, nothing. Just the hum of the fridges on the bar. I packed all the money away and locked the safe, hiding the key in the office. A rush of confidence came over me.

I picked up my bag and I needed a weapon. A weapon, okay? What could I use? A corkscrew? Bingo. I'll pop this, most. like a Merlo. I ring my boyfriend, who was now outside.

He was looking through the window and said that there was no one there. Even though he didn't have a key to get in, his toxic masculinity made him think that if he saw someone run at me, he could punch the door window through to save me. It's the thought that counts, I suppose. I didn't really have any other option by this point, so I kept him on the phone and went for the element of surprise, by throwing the office door open with an,

Aha! It took me a minute, but I eventually made my way to the front of the bar. There was no one there. I was baffled. However, I was not tempting fate by going on hunt around the venue to find this being. I ran to the door, flipped the lights off, and left. Very shaken up. My boyfriend was laughing at me saying how over-dramatic I was, and that it was probably just something falling over.

I text the staff in a group chat the next day to tell them about my experience. A few of the older staff said, Oh yeah, I've had the same before. It's just one of the angry ghosts. Another piped up with, yeah, they've done it a few times to a few people. I think they just like to mess with us. Well, it bloody worked. It absolutely must have been one of the venue ghosts.

They had me well and truly fearing for my life after that shift. It took me a little while to be able to laugh about it, but I honestly thought that I was not going to get out of that venue that night, and may have even ended up joining the venue ghost family. Thanks for taking the time to read this, even if it isn't used, and keep doing what you're doing, my guy, you're a legend. Oh, thank you. So, this story is a bit weird, but it still freaks me out thinking about it.

In my 20s, I was completely. into the dating app thing. I probably had four active ones at once, and was looking for anything and anyone. My 20s had been pretty experimental for me. I'll just say that. But at the same time, I really didn't turn anyone down, which is why this particular interaction was strange.

I received a match request from someone whose name was K-T, as in first name K-A-Y, last name. last name T, T, T-E. Was it possible that was their real name? Sure. But it also seemed like it was their clever way of putting their first name, Katie, right? So we'll refer to them from here as Katie. The first thing I noticed about Katie's profile was the hilariously bad Photoshop.

Her face was clearly pasted onto another body with mismatched lighting, and a weird, pixelated edge around her head, showing the background was not the same. The other photos were similar, badly edited compositions, where the body and even the background didn't match. I actually laughed as I went through them. If you didn't even care about your fake profile photos,

I wasn't even going to waste my time, and I declined the match. Over the next few days, however, I kept getting notifications that this Katie had tried to match with me again, and requested to message me. Each time I checked the photos, and they were always those horribly photoshopped pictures, so I kept declining. But after the fifth attempt, I finally accepted to see what they had to say so badly to me. Their message literally only said hi. So I responded by saying something along the lines of,

Look, I don't know what your goal is, but I can tell your pictures are obviously fake. I can literally see the pixelation and hard cuts where you cut and pasted these together. I'm down from meeting new people, but I'm not interested in talking to someone using fake photos. Their response came quickly after mine. Why should I show my real face when people like you would just reject me anyways? This may no sense to me. My bio said that I was open to meeting anyone and everyone. Men, women, non-binary, I didn't have a preference,

as long as we had similar interests. So I tried explaining that using fake photos was dishonest and could even get your account banned for it. But they then called me shallow and judgmental, and still claimed that I wouldn't have even matched with them if I knew what they really looked like. I decided it wasn't worth my time, and I just blocked them and reported the profile for being fake.

I figured that was a strange interaction, but at least it was over. A few days later, however, I got a new match request and this one was pretty creepy. The profile picture looked very familiar, and that's because it was me. But it wasn't like they just took my photo and made a new profile. It appeared to be manipulated. My face was cut up and reassembled in. incorrectly. My mouth was pasted back on upside down. My eyes swapped. I swiped through the other pictures, and it just got more and more disturbing. There was a photo of me that I had posted on my

Facebook page, but my eyes were replaced with what I think were snake eyes. My real eyes were then pasted on my forehead. My lips appeared to be sewn shut. There were several photos just like that on the profile. All of me. I accepted the match, having a feeling who was behind this. This looked exactly like the works of that Katie person. I messaged them saying I was reporting their profile again, and yes, I called them a creep. Their response was something about, now you know how it feels to have your image judged.

That made no sense to me. Anyone could see actual pictures of me and judge me without them. them manipulating my own photos. I just blocked and reported them again. But it didn't help. I started seeing the same thing on two other dating apps that I used, and then Facebook. I had friends reporting to me that they found these creepy profiles of me, my face being warped or just pasted on other bodies,

some incredibly inappropriate. I tried reporting them to Facebook, but I was basically told, that they couldn't prove they were posing as someone else, me, in that it was art rather than something malicious. The photos and profiles continued, and I could do nothing about it. I just blocked them when I could and ignored them. Finally, I received a message request from a profile where the picture was a headstone

with a normal photo of me on it. For some reason, this one I accepted. I was terrified, but also curious, if they were threatening me. I thought, maybe if it was a threat, maybe I could take it to the police and finally do something about it. But instead, the message appeared to be the opposite.

It said that I was like all the rest, that I would never understand, and if they couldn't get it through to me, then there was no more hope for either of us. The message then had a picture on the bottom of my head, pasted on a naked body with what looked like bloody wings attached. I was freaking out. What the hell was that even supposed to mean?

I couldn't even bring myself to reply and ask, and instead I went to the police. They took a statement and said that they would look into it, but said they couldn't do much without knowing who was actually behind it. I didn't know what else I could do. I deleted all of the dating apps and social media. apps, hoping to just leave it behind. I was too afraid to even go outside, worried that they may try to do something to me. But to my relief and surprise, nothing ever happened.

There weren't even weird cars driving by or following me. My friends told me that there were no new profiles posting and tagging me. I was curious, so I reactivated my apps and checked the dating ones first. All the profiles I had blocked were gone. They either didn't exist at all, or had been deleted. It was like they just disappeared. I took screenshots of them all because otherwise it was like it never existed. Like I said, I was relieved, but then I thought about the implications of that last message.

What did they mean by it? And the fact that all of it was gone, did that mean that they were gone to? I was terrified. Now, almost a full decade later, I still have never learned who was behind those profiles. I never found out if maybe they just gave up on me or something worse. I don't know if it was someone I knew or a complete stranger. And to be honest, I don't know which scenario is worse. Hello again, Raven.

I've already submitted a glitch. story today, and now I'm going to write the paranormal one. I don't exactly remember the timeline, but it was probably six to seven years ago when my mom's grandmother passed away. It was not like she was sick, or like everyone was expecting her to, you know, leave Earth soon. She was just fine, sitting on the edge of the bed and shouting at her daughter-in-law, which is my mom's mother. Then she dozed off in that position and fell off the bed, hit her head, and that was the end. I know I might be sounding disrespectful right now, but trust me, she was not the kind of lady to deserve respect. Also, she was well over 70 years old, so no need to feel bad for her.

Okay. Anyways, so after she had passed away, my granny and grandma could feel her presence in the house for almost a month. month or two. And here are two instances where they literally saw her. It was pretty late in the night. Granny, gran' on, my uncle, were all sleeping. No lights were on in the room, but as their apartment is by the main road, and they live on the second floor, the street lights could easily enter.

Neither of my grandparents have death-like sleep like me, and they do wake up to use the washroom sometimes during the night. That night, my grand-a woke up first and was going to climb down the bed when he noticed a white apparition near the couch. He blinked a few times to brush the sleep from his eyes, and now we could figure out what the apparition looked like. It looked just like his mother, wearing a white sari, sitting on the couch, and slowly rocking back and forth, which she used to do when she would fall asleep while sitting. The figure was rather translucent and slowly started fading out until my granda couldn't see her anymore. The next instance is when my granny was alone at home.

Both my grand-on-un-un-un-uncle went to work, so it was just my granny in the afternoon. She was taking her usual afternoon nap when the doorbell rang. It was not the ghost, just the neighbor. My granny didn't move, but she did open. in her eyes, and in front of her, she saw a pair of legs covered in white sari. She instantly knew it was her mother-in-law. She went cold with fear. She slowly moved her eyes up to see the figure, but tried to make the least possible movements.

When her eyes were up to the waist of the figure and she blinked, the figure was gone. There was nothing above the waist. And now when she looked down, the legs were gone, too. So these were the two times when each of my grandparents saw her. In the next two incidents, they didn't see her, but they did feel her. The relationship of my grandparents with that old lady wasn't very great. My granda still had a sort of love-hate relationship with his mother, but for my granny, there was only hatred in her heart.

When her dead body was still in the hospital, my granda was sitting outside, waiting for some formalities to be done. The chair slipped from under him. He said it was as if someone pulled the chair to make him fall. His hips and thighs were injured. No, there weren't any humans who would do such a thing in a hospital. According to my granny, she always felt a presence around her, which was not at all welcoming, after her mother-in-law's death.

One evening she went out for a stroll, and suddenly she felt a strong push on her back, which made her stumble forward and fall hard on the sidewalk. Again, there was no one in sight near her. She felt a sharp pain in her right wrist, and later found out that her carpels were fractured. In Hinduism, we performed some rituals for the salvation of the deceased ones, but these incidents continued even a month after the regular rituals were done. So, my mom suggested my gran'a do the pin-thon, in which food offerings are made to the soul of the deceased in a sacred place,

and with certain rules and regulations and mantras, after which the souls are known to attain salvation. My grandma acted on my mom's advice, and after that day, the ominous soul that was looming around kind of vibe lifted from their house. What I'm about to tell you is a story about how I almost lost my life in November of 2022.

I live in Boston and I really love music. I love making music, listening to music and performing music. It has always been my number one priority growing up. Some nights I would go to a nearby venue, to see people perform live music. Sometimes I would get a little drunk or high as weed was legal in Massachusetts. A guy would show up selling sometimes, but he was licensed,

and the bar gave him permission to do so. I would never go off the rails, but one night I did. It was a Friday night, and I didn't have a good day. My boss was snobby to me at work, and she took her anger out on everyone, mainly me. What was with her that day? Did she wake up on the wrong side of the bed? Did her husband cheat on her with me? It was odd.

I decided to go to the bar to see people play music and get me in a better mood. I then went to the bar later that night. I walked in, said hi to some of the bartenders. I know them pretty well, and they always welcomed me there. I told them that I'd had a rough day today and would be happier if I got a drink. So they made me a cocktail. I finished it no more than ten minutes later. After I finished, I asked for another one.

One bartender looked at me with the weird expression on her face, but she did give me one. After I grabbed my drink, I went to the bathroom with my drink in hand. After I finished using the bathroom, I walked to the guy selling at the stand. I saw edibles and plants. I decided to buy some edibles. After paying for it, I opened it up. I don't know what went through my head, but I took three edibles and placed them in my mouth and started eating them. Of course, nothing happened to me right away.

About 15 minutes later, it finally kicked in. I felt as if my ears were underwater and I saw many different colors changing. All of a sudden, I started dancing like crazy, and everyone was looking at me as if I was on a different planet. I kept acting like a maniac, and when I went back to my seat, a bartender forced me to leave. As I was not all there, she kept telling me to go, and I finally left after the seventh time. I left the venue, and I was stumbling and then walking. I then walked into an alleyway, which was really, right around the corner from the bar.

As I was walking, I saw four men approach me. I was still very much tweaking and still zonked out, and I said hey to them. They asked if I was all right. I said, I'm all good, and I was slurring my speech. I then started to maniacally laugh. They started laughing too, but not laughing with me, rather at me. This went on for 30 seconds.

until one guy came in front of me and punched me in the face so aggressively. This made me wake up a little, but I was still very much tripping. After the punch landed on me, and I put my hands up a little as now I knew where this was going. I said, okay, okay, just chill. They didn't listen. And the next thing I knew, all four men threw me to the ground and started kicking and stomping on me. The next thing, I was knocked out, and I didn't remember anything after that. I don't know how many hours had passed, but the next thing I knew was that I woke up in a bathroom.

This time, I was coming back to reality. I saw two guys standing on each side of me right next to me, and I asked, Where am I? What happened to me? They said that everything was fine, and to just stay calm. It took me a minute to finally come to life and realize that I had been kidnapped and held hostage. I begged them to let me go, and they said, No, you'll stay here until we don't want you here anymore. I was so scared at this moment.

I didn't know what to do next. I threw up, a lot. I had never thrown up that much in my life. Some of it landed on both of the guy's shoes. The guy on the left smacked me. on the cheek, scolding me, and said, Hey, watch it! You're going to pay for this. They then picked me up and dragged me out of the bathroom.

I didn't know and I didn't want to know where they would be taking me, but I knew that it wouldn't be good. All of a sudden, my flight instincts came in. I quickly kicked both the guys in the groin. As their grip released, because they were in pain, I then bolted out the door and was running down the stairway at about, 11 miles per hour.

I then exited the building and ran about three blocks. Then I stopped and checked if I had my phone, wallets, and keys still on me. I let out a huge sigh of relief to find everything was still with me. I checked the time, and it was around 4.30 in the morning. I then went to a bus stop near me and took it all the way back home. I ultimately decided that I would not call the police because I would also so get in trouble if I admitted why they beat me up,

and I would have to tell them the truth. I also didn't want the guy who sold the edibles to me to get in trouble because he could land in prison for a long time. When I went back to work on Monday, everyone was so shocked to see me with a bunch of bruises on my face. They, of course, asked what happened, and I just told them that I got jumped by a gang. I left out the whole part about me taking three edibles at one,

as it would make me look stupid. I've not been to that bar since because I believe that I wasn't allowed back there after what I did. I'm just lucky to make it out of that building safely, where I was kidnapped, or else I wouldn't be telling you this story. Hey there, friends, I hope that you enjoyed this collection of scary stories on this episode of the As the Raven Dreams podcast. If the platform you're on has the option to follow podcast and you enjoyed my work, please do consider doing so. Also, leaving ratings and reviews are super important for the algorithm to support the growth of the podcast. I'm just one guy doing this. I don't have a team.

It's literally just me doing everything. So any supports like that is greatly appreciated. Never expected, though. So if you go above and beyond with that, I do appreciate it. Some platforms also allow you to leave comments, and if you feel inclined to do so, please do. I would appreciate that. I do have a Patreon in a merch store that you can also check out if you want to support a little further. The Patreon side of things get you early access to all of my content.

It is formatted differently as it goes in line with what my YouTube channel is, but it is the same stories. Just different collections. There is also a website, astherravendreams.com, where you can check out pretty much everything about me, my social media platforms, fiction stories I've written if you want to read those, as well as submitting your own stories, which there's a big button on the front page, you click to do so. And those stories basically keep the podcast alive, to be honest with you. So, yeah. All that said, friends, I do hope that I see you again here very soon. Until then, remember that you are loved, that you are valid, that you are important. You're the best you that you can be. Don't forget it. And until next time,

Much love and sleep well.