Horror Stories - 6 Most Disturbing TRUE Stalker Horror Stories That Turned Everyday Life Into a Nightmare

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Starting point is 00:00:33 When I have a crush on a guy, no one knows. Be careful. I wish Nicky's loving more than anyone in the entire world. Who you wish for. Obsession is 96% fresh on rotten tomatoes. I love you so, so, so, so much. It's blood-soaked nightmare fuel. What kind of supposed you put on her?

Starting point is 00:00:53 You have been warned. Obsession, we did R. Under 1790M without parent. Only in theaters May 15th, with special engagements in Dilby. Hello everyone and welcome back to horror stories. I know many of you use these episodes to fall asleep so before you drift off, I'd love it if you could leave a comment letting me know where you're listening from around the world. Also, don't forget to like and subscribe if you're enjoying the episodes. Story 1

Starting point is 00:01:28 The year 2022 was etched into my memory because of what happened that September. I had just started my second year of high school, living in Alaska, Wisconsin. still trying to get back into the school routine after the end of summer. I never imagined that the worst experience of my life was just around the corner. During the holidays, I worked at a temporary job where I met a guy named Austin. He was 17 a little older than me, and from the first moment I noticed that he liked me. He was not exactly subtle. Almost every day when we left work, he would give me a hug and would find ways to spend as much time around me as possible.

Starting point is 00:02:09 Since I still didn't have a driver's license, he offered to drive me to and from work, and I accepted. At first I thought he was just being kind, but as the days went by, it became clear that he was infatuated with me. I didn't feel the same way, so I let it slide and kept the relationship on a superficial level, just as friends. When classes started again, Austin was still hanging around, even though he was no longer a student at the high school. He had been expelled the previous year for plagiarism, something I didn't think too much about at the time. Looking back, there were probably more red flags that I didn't know how to see. One weekend, a classmate from school organized a party. Austin showed up two, and when it ended, he offered to drive me home. When we got to my door, he hesitated for a second before asking me

Starting point is 00:03:04 if I wanted to go out with him. I left nervously, trying not to hurt him. And, he was the told him I preferred that we stayed friends. I could see his disappointment, but he didn't argue. I thought that was the end of it. That night I put on my pajamas, brush my teeth, and was just about to fall asleep when I got a message from a friend. What I read made my blood run cold. She told me that Austin had been bragging to her about sneaking up quietly to my bedroom window to take pictures of me while I slept. She even sent me screenshots of his messages and the images he had taken. There I was, completely unaware, sleeping in my bed. He had saved the photos in an album on his phone and had titled it, The Love of My Life. My stomach turned. Sometimes I left

Starting point is 00:03:53 the blinds open because on that side of the house nobody ever passed by. And now I regretted that more than anything. I wrote to Austin immediately, in all caps, telling him to leave me alone and never contact me again. He tried to play the victim, replied by a child, apologizing and saying he hadn't meant to bother me. I blocked him shaking with anger and disgust and tried to calm myself down with melatonin and Benadryl so I could sleep. For a while it worked. I don't know what time it was when the sound of shattering glass woke me up. I opened my eyes suddenly and before I could understand what was happening, Austin was already climbing through my window, which was in pieces. There was no time to react. Suddenly,

Starting point is 00:04:39 a burning pain tore across my face. He had a knife and he was stabbing me. I screamed my heart pounding so hard it felt like it was going to explode and I heard my dad shouting from the hallway. Austin shot back out through the same window he had come in, leaving shards of glass everywhere. My dad burst into my room seconds later, pale and horrified. He hugged me tightly, repeating over and over what had happened, while I sobbed and tried to. to explain it between the blood and the panic. When I told him that Austin had attacked me, his expression changed from fear to pure rage. He ran out to look for him desperately, but came back empty-handed.

Starting point is 00:05:23 Meanwhile, I was bleeding a lot and starting to feel dizzy. My dad pressed a towel over the wounds and tried to calm me down until the police and paramedics arrived. It felt like an eternity, but they finally got there. The paramedic stabilized me enough to transport me to the heart. hospital. The officers stayed behind to search for Austin while I was treated and kept under observation overnight. The authorities took a while to track him down, but they eventually found him. What I later learned left me frozen. While he was in the hospital under police watch, Austin told the staff that he loved me, admitted everything he had done, and rambled that he didn't know why he had done it.

Starting point is 00:06:05 It was as if he couldn't grasp the horror of his own actions. The justice system moved quickly. He was charged with first-degree intentional attempted homicide, armed robbery, and other offenses. In the end, he was sentenced to 16 years in prison and four additional years of extended supervision. Knowing that he is locked up should bring me peace, but the scars he left me with are not just physical. Since that night, I've been on guard with new people. especially men. Even if someone seems sincere, a part of me can't help but wonder what they might be hiding.

Starting point is 00:06:42 The PTSD is deeply rooted, and no matter how much I tell myself that it's over, the memories keep replaying in my head. Austin ruined his own life, but he also left me carrying a trauma that I am never going to be completely free from. Story 2. Starting college was one of the biggest changes of my life. At the end of August 2021, I packed my bags, left Chicago, and moved into a dorm at Queens College in New York City. Everything felt overwhelming. The vibrant campus, the crowded dining halls,

Starting point is 00:07:23 the endless list of names and faces. But there was also a quiet excitement. Maybe finally I would find people who shared my interests. I was a first year film studies major, so naturally during at orientation, I tried to meet other students in my program. Most of them seemed friendly, and a few quickly became my first college friends. But there was one guy, Dylan, who stood out for reasons that were not exactly positive. From the beginning, Dylan had this habit of forcing his way into conversations he hadn't been included in. He would crack jokes that never landed, interrupt with random facts, and give off the sense that he was trying way too hard to fit in. At first I brushed it off.

Starting point is 00:08:08 I thought maybe he was just socially awkward and needed time to adjust. However, as the weeks went by, his behavior became impossible to ignore. He would follow us when we went to class, sit at our lunch table without asking, and monopolize conversations until all of us fell silent. The rest of us tolerated him, but no one invited him to hang out. He simply was there. The breaking point came one night at dinner with three friends, Alex, Eric, and Mary Kate. We were complaining about Dylan's constant interruptions when Mary Kate suddenly dropped a piece of information that left the table in silence.

Starting point is 00:08:50 She said they had seen Dylan following girls back to their dorms at night, not just once, but several times. She mentioned that some students were already calling him a stalker. Hearing that felt like being doused with a bucket of ice water. Being annoying was one thing. This was a completely different level. A few days later, I was having lunch with the group when Dylan showed up and sat in the only empty chair. He immediately started ranting about how people were giving him dirty looks and how no one respected him. We ignored him, hoping he would take the hint. But suddenly he exploded and accused us of acting like children.

Starting point is 00:09:29 Something inside me snapped. I had been swallowing my frustration for weeks. and without thinking I let it all out. I told him in no uncertain terms that none of us wanted him around, that he was invasive, that he wouldn't stop talking about irrelevant things, and that we weren't going to put up with it anymore. The words had barely left my mouth when Dylan jumped out of his chair. His face was twisted with rage, and before I could stand up,

Starting point is 00:09:57 he lunged at me and wrapped his hands around my neck. The entire cafeteria went silent as I gasped. for air, his grip tightening while he screamed something about my tiny brain. For a few terrifying seconds I thought I was going to pass out right there in front of everyone. Then out of nowhere, a group of guys from another table ran over, pulled him off me and pinned him down on a nearby table until security arrived. My throat was throbbing with pain and my voice came out cracked and shaky when my friends asked if I was okay. They notified the dean of students immediately. I had to file a detailed report, and the university security team even showed us the surveillance footage from the cafeteria showing the attack.

Starting point is 00:10:44 Seeing it on the screen made it feel even more real. That same day, Dylan was removed from campus and within a week, I received an email informing me that he had been expelled. It should have been the end, but it didn't feel that way. The attack replayed in my head at night, and the bruises on my neck stayed visible for several days. I thought I wouldn't hear from him again until Thanksgiving break. I was already home in Chicago, enjoying the comfort of my room when something happened that left me frozen. Around 9.30 p.m., there were a few knocks on my bedroom window. At first I thought it might be a branch or some kind of mistake, but when I lifted the blinds,

Starting point is 00:11:25 my stomach dropped. Outside was Dylan. I yanked the blinds down and ran out of my room to get my parents. They came back with me and when my mom looked outside there was no one there. She told me it was probably in my head, maybe stress her paranoia. I wanted to believe her, but the image of Dylan standing in the dark outside my window wouldn't leave my mind. The more I thought about it, the stranger it seemed.

Starting point is 00:11:52 Dylan lived in New York. So how could he be in Chicago? Was it really him or was my mind playing tricks on me? That night I didn't sleep. And even today, years later, I still don't know if what I saw was real. What I do know is that Dylan changed the way I moved through the world. I trust my instincts more. I stay cautious, and I'm careful about who I allow into my life.

Starting point is 00:12:19 I never imagined my first year of college would come with a lesson like that, but that is exactly what I took from that experience. Story 3. I grew up in the late 90s, and my family lived in a rough age. downtown area, full of things most parents would never want their kids exposed to. The backyard by itself already scared me. It looked more like a forgotten patch of woods than a yard, weeds taller than my shoulders, trees twisted around each other, and even an old mattress that over the years seemed to have been swallowed by the branches. People who were hooked on drugs and drifters

Starting point is 00:13:02 pass through all the time because it connected to the main avenue. Every now and then I would see syringes or beer bottles scattered on the ground. For a little girl of barely six years old, it wasn't just unsettling. It was terrifying. I told my mom that at night there was someone outside my window watching me. At first she brushed me off with the typical explanation of it was a nightmare. Until one morning she got fed up with my resistance to going to bed and dragged me outside to prove that there was nothing there. But when we reached my window, her expression changed. The grass right underneath was flattened down to bare dirt, and on the frame there were deep scratches, as if someone had been forcing a tool in with pressure. My bedroom was in the basement

Starting point is 00:13:49 with one of those half-buried little windows, so the idea of someone crouched there waiting froze both of us. We couldn't afford to move right away, so life went on. Around that time, my best friend owned who lived next door was my inseparable companion. We spent hours is wandering around the neighborhood and although the area was sketchy, we never thought too much about the trouble we might run into. One of our favorite places was the house of an elderly woman who spoiled us with candy and always had a kind word. To us she was like a secret grandmother and her home became a small refuge from the rest of the world. One afternoon my mom took me with her to run a quick food errand and in those brief 15 minutes the entire block changed. There were squad cars lined up on the street, news vans on the sidewalk, and a bright yellow tape sealing off the front of my best friend's house.

Starting point is 00:14:46 We froze in place as helicopters flew overhead and reporters crowded around. While we were gone, a man who was staying with his mother nearby lost his mind. He thought my friend was making fun of him while she was on the phone and, in a paranoid outburst, grabbed a butcher knife and went straight for her. Luckily, she saw him coming and locked herself in the bathroom with the phone still in her hand, but her mom wasn't as fortunate. He stabbed her over and over before the police could arrive. Somehow, in what I can only call a miracle, she survived the attack after several surgeries. For weeks the story was all over the news, and I watched along with my mother to make sure she was okay.

Starting point is 00:15:29 I will never forget the jolt of terror when the attacker's face appeared on the screen. It was the same man I had seen peeking into my window at night. The revelation got even worse when I finished putting the pieces together. He was the son of that sweet elderly woman we visited for pastries. He had been in her kitchen when we stopped by, freshly out of prison, quiet but attentive. In that moment, he barely registered in my memory, just another adult in the background. But over time, I understood that he had been watching us closely. and I realized he had been stalking me for a while.

Starting point is 00:16:07 We never did manage to move right away, although my mother wanted to. Once he was incarcerated, she thought the danger had passed. I spent another year in that basement bedroom, with the blinds firmly closed every night, never again allowing myself to be exposed to the possibility of someone looking in. That habit followed me into adulthood. No open blinds, no uncovered windows,

Starting point is 00:16:32 because you never know. Story 4. A couple of days ago, something happened to me that left me so unsettled that I'm still thinking about it. I wasn't even planning to go out that day, but my friend Sarah called to ask

Starting point is 00:16:52 if I wanted to meet her and Lisa at Dunkin' Donuts, and it seemed like a good excuse to catch up. The place is about 15 minutes from my house, so I decided to walk. When I went in, I saw them right away and sat down with them. We had only been talking for a little while when I noticed my younger sister Elena

Starting point is 00:17:10 sitting on the other side of the place with her friend Jess. They're both 18 and still live with my parents while I've had my own apartment for a while now. I went over to say hi and at first they jumped. Then they almost seemed relieved to see me. Elena leaned in and whispered, Don't look too obviously, but that man in the blue shirt over there has been circling around us for a while.

Starting point is 00:17:35 I glanced over and saw a guy, maybe in his 40s, sitting alone. She explained that he had walked past their table several times in the last 20 minutes, slowing down every time he got close to them. At first I downplayed it, thinking maybe she was exaggerating, but I told them that if they wanted, I could leave with them so they wouldn't feel uncomfortable. I went back to my table, and when I told Sarah and Lisa, they both laughed and said my sister was probably being paranoid. It didn't take long for me to realize that maybe she wasn't.

Starting point is 00:18:10 The man got up to go to the bathroom and as he passed their table, he practically crawled. He slowed down so noticeably that it almost seemed like he was overacting. Elena and Jess looked at me at the same time and I gave them a slight nod to show that I was seeing the same thing. A few minutes later I excused myself to go to the bathroom and told them that when I came out we could leave. When I came back, Elena and Jess hurried over to me, visibly shaken. They said that another man had joined the first one and that the two of them were pointing at their table and whispering. That was all I needed to hear. We went over to where Sarah and Lisa were to quickly explain that we were leaving, and the three of us walked out of the place.

Starting point is 00:18:55 Elena had driven, so we got into her car and pulled away, leaving the two men behind. On the way to my house, I remembered that I had something I needed to. to return to my mom. And since Elena was heading to our parents' house anyway, I asked her to drop me off there. But when I was inside looking for the item, Elena called me. Her voice tense. She said that the man from Dunkin' Donuts had followed us and had parked just a few houses away. Sure enough, when I looked outside, his car was in a driveway that clearly wasn't his. I hurried Elena and Jess inside, locked the door, and asked Elena to take a picture of the car in the license plate while Jess called 911. We stayed together while Jess explained everything to the operator.

Starting point is 00:19:42 Not long after she finished the call, there was a loud knock on the door and a man's voice said, It's the police. We all exhaled until I looked through the pee-pole and saw that it was the same guy from before. I froze. I yelled, we didn't call the police. trying to buy time. He shouted something about them having received a call of this address, but I wasn't going to fall for it. I told the girls it was him and that they needed to stay quiet while we waited. He started pounding on the door harder and harder, switching between demanding that we let him in and begging. Just as Jess picked up the phone again to call the police, we heard real sirens outside. Seconds later, there was more noise, and then a real officer

Starting point is 00:20:28 knocked on the door. I checked through the P-Poll again to make sure, and this time it was legitimate. They arrested the man right in front of my house. Later, one of the officers told us they had found a knife on him and other weapons in the car. If I hadn't looked through the P-Pole, everything could have ended very differently. Elena and Jess were really shaken up, but safe, and our parents rushed over as soon as they found out what had happened. Story 5. A few years ago, a few years of after finishing college, I did modeling work as a side activity to supplement my income while keeping my full-time day job. It was very niche, very specific, with a surprisingly loyal audience. I had several people who genuinely appreciated and respected me. I stayed in touch

Starting point is 00:21:23 with most of them even after I quit. In general, that world was calm, low stress, and people protected my privacy, something I valued enormously. However, there was one guy who never got over it. He would send aggressive messages that swung between furious and demeaning and then suddenly, excessively sweet, as if a switch had flipped. I blocked him everywhere. Text messages, calls social media, but he always reappeared with new numbers or fake profiles. In the end, I changed my phone, tightened my privacy settings, and chose to keep quiet about

Starting point is 00:22:02 the whole thing. At that time, I didn't see him as a real threat, more like someone annoying and unstable. Years went by with nothing. I had left it all behind. I didn't hear from him anymore, and it became just a distant, irritating memory. Then out of nowhere, I got a friend request on social media. Something in the way they wrote set off every alarm. The tone, the choice of words.

Starting point is 00:22:29 It was unmistakably him. I ignored it and told myself it wasn't worth spending energy on. Life went on. I started trying my luck with online dating, with the idea of meeting people casually. Some dates were boring, others awkward, but then I connected with someone who seemed normal. The messages flowed. We talked about having dinner and everything felt easy. I had a good feeling when we met.

Starting point is 00:22:57 He was polite, funny, and seemed genuinely interested. Dinner went by without incident. The conversation was light, and the walk back to his apartment was casual, nothing intense. Once inside, things started to heat up. I was relaxed, comfortable, until he leaned in and whispered, Why did you make me wait so long? I froze. I asked what he meant, and he told me he had moved from coast to coast just for me.

Starting point is 00:23:27 My stomach dropped. The kind, cordial man from the... the entire evening vanished, replaced by someone I had met before, but in his worst version. He started repeating things I had almost erased from years ago. Private conversations, obsessive messages, the exact same phrases my stalker back then used to say. I saw him glance over and over behind me toward a laptop I hadn't noticed, and I understood immediately that he was recording everything. I knew I had to get out of there calmly, even though. I saw him glance over and though my mind was racing a mile a minute. I told him I wasn't feeling well and that I needed to leave.

Starting point is 00:24:07 At first he didn't seem to believe me. He grabbed me and made me promise it wouldn't be the last time we saw each other. I faked it, nodded, even suggested another dinner so he would let me go without causing an incident. He finally let me go to the bathroom to get my things on and I used the chance to head out alone to my car. I drove home in silence. shaking and trying to process it. Once I was home, I searched his real name online, confirm my worst suspicions, and realized he was the same man

Starting point is 00:24:41 who had been stalking me for years. He had given me a fake name, changed the way he behaved, and took advantage of the fact that I didn't know what he looked like. I felt vulnerable and violated in my privacy, but I also knew I had gotten out alive. I blocked his number, deleted my dating profile, and now I'm filing a report with the police so they have him on their radar.

Starting point is 00:25:05 I didn't reveal personal details that could have put me at further risk, but knowing now what he looks like physically gives me a certain sense of control. I feel shaken, ashamed and furious, but also extremely alert and cautious. That night reinforced something I already knew. Trust is earned and predators don't just disappear. Story 6. I remember this happened in 10.000. 2004, long before dating apps were everywhere. I had tried meeting some local guys through online

Starting point is 00:25:42 sites, but I'd never really clicked with anyone. One night, while browsing a forum, I came across a guy who seemed almost too perfect. He was my age, like the same music I did, had the same hobbies, and even shared those little quirks I loved. We started chatting at first with light conversations and eventually agreed to meet up for coffee downtown. At the time it all seemed completely normal, just a casual first date. When we met he was polite, even a little charming. We ordered our drinks, found a corner to sit in, and talked about the usual things. Favorite movies, music, classes, small talk about the city. He told me he was studying medicine and he sounded like he was doing pretty well.

Starting point is 00:26:32 The first half hour felt fine, even promising, until we decided to take a walk after finishing our coffee. That's when I started noticing subtle changes in him that made my stomach tighten. His posture shifted. He walked too close to me, and his eyes darted around while at the same time remaining fixed on me in a way that made my skin crawl.

Starting point is 00:26:55 He rubbed his hands over his legs with a nervous, almost predatory gesture and went quiet. At first I thought maybe it was just shyness, but then I realized he was slowly leading me farther and farther away from the busy downtown streets. Toward narrow alleys where almost no pedestrians passed. My heart started pounding, but I tried to stay calm. I tried steering the conversation back toward trivial topics,

Starting point is 00:27:22 laughing lightly, hoping he would snap out of that strange state. He did respond, yes, but halfway almost on autopilot, like a robot. When I suggested we head back toward the more crowded streets, he suddenly grabbed my arm and said, No, wait, we have to sit down. There's something I need to tell you. Every alarm in my head started screaming that something was very wrong, but by then we were already far from anyone who might help us. I went stiff as he led me to a nearby bench, not letting of my arm, and that's when the real nightmare began. He turned to me with a smile that never reached his eyes, a grimace that screamed possession. In a low-measured voice, he began telling me

Starting point is 00:28:09 things I had never shared online, details I never imagined he could know, where I went after school, where I worked part-time, which bars and cafes I met my friends in, and even who I spent my time with. He told me he had been watching me for months, following me, memorizing my routines, and that when he saw me on the dating site, he had built his profile to resemble mine with the deliberate intention of luring me into that meeting. His hand tightened around my arm and the other slid onto my thigh. He whispered that now that he had me, he would never let me go. All of this was happening while I clung to the act of seeming calm. I nodded and smiled. I nodded and smiled. Mild, pretending I wasn't panicking.

Starting point is 00:28:55 I had already slipped my phone out of my pocket, and as quickly as I could, I texted one of my closest friends. I knew she lived in the area, telling her that I was in immediate danger. Within minutes, I saw her truck turn the corner. I waited until she got close enough, then I pulled my arm free from the guy's grip and ran toward the vehicle. He started shouting and running after me, yelling insults. But I jumped into the bed of my friend's truck and we sped off, leaving him screaming on the sidewalk.

Starting point is 00:29:29 After that, I never went back to online dating. I don't know exactly what he had planned, but I'm sure it wasn't going to end well for me if my friend hadn't shown up when she did. Years later, I still remember every detail, the way his eyes lit up when he described my routines, the sick satisfaction in his tone, the cold weight of his hand on my thigh. That day taught me that some people aren't just weird or annoying. They can be dangerous. And sometimes the danger hides behind a screen until it's already too late. Since then, I've never risked meeting strangers from the internet again.

Horror Stories - 6 Most Disturbing TRUE Stalker Horror Stories That Turned Everyday Life Into a Nightmare

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