Let's Not Meet: A True Horror Podcast - 13x18: Best Creepy Driver Stories

Episode Date: October 28, 2024

Stories in this episode: He Followed Us into Our Uber | Sydney (1:27) No More Ubers | Anon (10:40) Scary Uber Ride from a Patient | Mouse (16:00) Hungry Taxi Driver | Alee (22:07) Fake Uber Driver | FossilFool12 (29:00) Bad Cab Story | Liz (35:34) An Uber Scare | Vanessa (41:13) Creepy Uber Driver | Taco HX (46:11) Extended Patreon Content: Never Leave a Friend Alone | Sophie The Guy in the Old Chevy Suburban | Anna The Carving Man | Sarah Due to periodic changes in ad placement, time stamps are estimates and are not always accurate. Upcoming LNM Live Tour Dates: 10/30/24 - Portland, OR @ Show Bar: GET YOUR TICKETS Follow: - Twitch - https://twitch.tv/crypticcounty - Website - https://letsnotmeetpodcast.com/ - Patreon - https://patreon.com/letsnotmeetpodcast - Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/letsnotmeetcast/ - TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@crypticcounty Check out the other Cryptic County podcasts like Odd Trails, Cryptic Encounters, and the Old Time Radiocast at CrypticCountyPodcasts.com or wherever you get your podcasts!    Get access to extended, ad-free episodes of Let's Not Meet: A True Horror Podcast with bonus stories every week at a higher bitrate along with a bunch of other great exclusive material and merch at patreon.com/letsnotmeetpodcast. This podcast would not be possible to continue at this rate without the help of the support of the legendary LNM Patrons. Come join the family! All of the stories you've heard this week were narrated and produced with the permission of their respective authors. Let's Not Meet: A True Horror Podcast is not associated with Reddit or any other message boards online. To submit your story to the show, send it to [e-mail].    Join the Naked Wines community and head to NakedWines.com/meet for 6 bottles of wine for JUST $39.99 with shipping included. To get 15% off your next gift, go to UncommonGoods.com/meet. 

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send it to letsnotmeetstoriesatgmail.com. Enjoy the show. This week on Let's Not Meet, we're sharing a collection of some of the most unsettling driver stories from the podcast. From creepy Uber drivers to terrifying taxis, this episode will have you thinking twice about who you accept a ride from. If anything, it's an incredibly important lesson in practicing safety when getting into cars with strangers. I've included a recording from one of my favorite guests on the show, Jessica McAvoy, someone you've probably heard on countless episodes of the No Sleep Podcast.

So let's jump right in. Enjoy the show. This story took place during my freshman year of college in 2019. I attend a large party school with a large array of nearby bars to choose from. That night, a bunch of my friends and I went to what is known as the Freshman Bar due to their more lenient ID policies. Although it was an easy bar to get into, there were a lot of creeps that hung out there, knowing that this was the spot for young, naive, freshman girls. My friends and I all knew this, and took precautions to protect ourselves.

We never ventured off from the group alone, and we would get a ride back to the dorms together if it was too late. We even gave our guy friends signals for when we needed a creepy guy to back off. On this particular night, most of my friends had gone home, leaving just me and my best friend, Zach. I met Zach at the beginning of the year because he lived in the dorm room next to mine. We quickly became close friends. All of my roommates and his roommates got along, and we would all go out together every weekend and just hang out between rooms during the week. Although Zach was not a very big guy physically, I felt safe around him and I knew that he

would do anything to protect me and my friends. Zach and I stayed at the bar till about 1.55 a.m. when the house lights turned on and the bouncers started to herd everyone out of the building. It was absolutely freezing that night, and it was snowing pretty hard. I frantically called for an Uber, which would usually take anywhere from 10 to 15 minutes to pick us up at the bar. When we got outside and we were waiting for our ride, Zach decided to light a cigarette. He offered me one and I declined, but some stranger saw this as an opportunity to bum one off of Zach.

The stranger sparked up a friendly conversation with us, asking about our night. I thought that it was strange that he was alone and didn't have any other friends with him, but also kind of felt bad for the guy. The conversation got weird. He asked us, do you like to drink? Obviously we like to drink. We just stayed until last call at the bar. Then he asked if Zack and I were a couple.

We told him no, we're just close friends. To this he responded, well that's good. I have my own place. I have four beers and four bedrooms. Each of you can have your own place. I have four beers and four bedrooms. Each of you can have your own room." We thought this stranger was messing with us. Why would we come to this house only to have one beer? Why was he asking us to come stay at his house in the first place?

We tried to laugh it off, but he kept insisting that we come and hang out at his house and spend the night. We also learned that he was 29, which was 10 years older than us. At that point, I was pretty uncomfortable, so I told Zach that I was going to look for an Uber in the line of cars, adding that I would be waiting just a few feet away. I opened up the Uber app,

and I saw that the car picking us up was going to be a green Subaru. I yelled to Zack while maintaining my distance from this stranger. I figured that Zack would have this situation handled until the Uber arrived. He is a charismatic and friendly guy and knows how to be polite to remove himself from a conversation. After a few minutes of waiting, Zack came up to me with a panicked look in his eyes. He put his arm around me and started walking, pulling me along with him.

He told me that he had told the strange man that we were going to leave soon and he said his goodbyes. When Zack turned away, he heard the man keep whispering, green Subaru, green Subaru, green Subaru. Like he was trying to remember which car we were going to get into. Seeing Zack panicked scared me. But luckily, we found the Uber within minutes and the stranger was out of sight. Zack and I climbed into the back seat and let out a sigh of relief.

Just happy to be out of the cold. The Uber was about to take off when the passenger door opened. The man followed us into the Uber. Zach and I stared in disbelief as we tried to tell him this was not his ride. The driver was in a hurry, so the strange guy managed to convince the driver to let him stay with us. I honestly think the driver thought that we were all drunk and he didn't want to deal with it. As the ride started, our panic turned into fear.

If this guy was crazy enough to get into the car with us, what else was he capable of? Did he have a weapon? As we were driving, this strange man tried to reroute the Uber to his house. This went on for a few minutes. I kept repeating that I ordered the ride and we would need to go to my dorm. Zack and I resorted to texting one another at this point to avoid upsetting the strange man because he started becoming aggressive when arguing about the destination. Thank God we were still going back to our dorm, but also, we didn't want this man to know where we lived.

What would have happened when we got dropped off? Would the strange man follow us inside? I searched through the Uber app to see if there was anything that I could do to subtly notify the driver, but it didn't help that the strange man was sitting in the front seat and could see the driver's phone. As we got closer to the dorm, we decided the best option would be to book it for our dorm as soon as the car stopped. The car pulled into the drop-off zone, which was at the bottom of a huge flight of stairs leading to the front entrance of our dorm. front entrance of our dorm. Zach grabbed my hand and we ran out the door and sprinted up the icy concrete stairs. It was the longest run of my life.

I spent the entire time praying that I wouldn't fall, which I was prone to do on these stairs, especially after drinking. We wanted to look back to see if the man was following this, but we both knew that we couldn't risk even a second of time. When we finally made it up the stairs, we scanned a key card to get into the building, then made it past the second door, which also required a key card. It was only then that we felt safe to process what just happened. My roommate was working at the front desk, which happened to be on the 15th floor, not the actual lobby of

the building where we entered. We knew that there were cameras around the building and wondered if she could access them since she worked closely with the resident manager. She, unfortunately, did not have access to the live footage, so we never found out if the man had followed us or if he was roaming around the building. We sure as hell did not want to find out ourselves. But at least we felt safe since the doors would only open with student key cards. I'll still never know what this strange man's intentions were.

Did he just want a free ride back to his house? Why was he so persistent in trying to get me and Zack to go back to his house when we only met a few minutes prior. What happened to him after the Uber dropped us off? To the strange man that tried to lure two young college students to his house and then had the audacity to invade our privacy while trying to escape him? Let's never meet. Ever walk into a grocery store and have no idea what to get? Yeah, me too. I've stopped wasting time at the grocery store staring at a giant wall of wine and not knowing what to pick up for my wife, and I like to surprise her with something new.

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Wines before and after that much-needed vacation. Now is the time to join the Naked Wines community. Head to NakedWines.com slash meet and put in my code MEAT for both the code and password for six bottles of wine for just $39.99, with shipping included. That's nakedwines.com slash meat and code MEAT for six bottles of wine for $39.99. Now back to the show. I want to start off by saying I haven't shared this story with many people because of how traumatic it was, but I am hoping that this story will help others. I'm a middle-aged woman, and people typically would describe me as intimidating upon first meeting.

But, see later that I am a very caring and protective friend. This happened in 2021. I was in Dallas, Texas finishing the end of a two-week vacation. I needed to get a few things to pack up my haul from shopping. My friend had been drinking, and I told her not to worry that I'd get an Uber down the road and be right back. At first, the driver seemed nice. We talked about me being from North Carolina

and the differences between our barbecues. Then he started making comments about how pretty they make North Carolina girls and how he was about to get off his shift. I told him thank you even though I started to get a bad feeling and that I put in for another driver on the ride back. He told me that he didn't mind doing it for free since where I was going was only five minutes away. Now because I had seen videos about bad experiences with Uber drivers, I told him no thank you. I needed to have a driver who was still on the clock and could be monitored by Uber. I thanked him for the ride and went into the store.

As I'm wandering around to pick a few things up that I need, I see that he comes inside. I feel all of the blood rush from my face and my stomach dropped. I ducked behind an end cap and watched as he went down the aisles, looking around presumably for me. I take my purchases up to the register line, looking around to see if I can find him. As I get close to the cashier, he finds me and makes a beeline directly towards me. Now, I'm a deer in headlights, not fight, not flight. He tells me that he has his wife on the phone to talk to me to assure me that he's a good guy and that I should come hang out with them

tonight. Gathering all of the southern politeness that I had been brought up with to get out of a bad situation, I tell him, no, thank you. And for them to have a good night. He walks off into the store again, and I start the look with the female cashier. The look where you're trying to scream through your eyes, please help me. I'm scared and I need your help. With a shaking voice and as much fake confidence as I could muster, I tell her, I'm from North Carolina and I had to take an Uber here. And did they mind if I stood by her as I waited for my car to arrive?

Thank the gods this woman caught everything. She told me absolutely, had me sit right beside her, and kept her eyes on me the entire time. A few minutes later this guy is coming through again. He's coming to the checkout. He tries to talk to me. He talks to me again. He tries to convince me to go home with him. I tell him no, firmly with no politeness at this point. I'm terrified, but I have backup now. He leaves and after the line dies, I tell her everything.

She walks out to check and he is still out there. At this point, I completely break down. The first lady called the manager up to the front and again, luckily, this lady was on it. She walked out to tell the man to leave, but he had left at that point already. They stayed with me until the Uber driver arrived and the manager gave me her number and told me she was going to feel him out before I got in. She explained to the new driver what had happened and let him know that I had her number to call her if anything happened. I hugged both of the ladies while sobbing, thanking them profusely. I rode back to my friend's house in terrified silence

and slipped into full panic attack mode as soon as I got back. To this day I still carry numbers in my wallet and I'm forever grateful that there were women who looked out for other women there. I'm also grateful to the content that I have seen and heard. If I hadn't gleaned the knowledge from the content of others' experiences, the gods only know what could have happened to me. I could have been a name, an ocean of names of women who weren't as lucky. So to the creepy, stalking Uber driver, let's never meet again because North Carolina also

makes girls who carry grudges. When I was 24, I used to work at a doctor's office. I alternated between doing front desk work and driving transport for car accident patients without a vehicle. We had one patient who used to come in and would often try to flirt with me and on a few occasions asked me out, which I declined each time. I wasn't interested in the man nor did I think that it would be professional. He wound up on my transport route. He needed a ride to the doctor's office due to car troubles.

Once I picked him up, he complimented me as he usually did, but I didn't respond much besides a quick thanks. I turned up the radio to make talking a bit harder as over time his compliments had become pushier. He had made me feel increasingly uncomfortable as he refused to take the hint. I ubered to and from work because at the time I didn't own a car. This patient happened to be our last patient in one night. As he left, he noticed that there was only one car in the parking lot besides his.

He asked about the other car in the parking lot and I explained that it was one of my co-workers cars and my uber would be by shortly to take me home. He offered me a ride home and I declined and I said that I didn't want to be charged a last minute cancellation fee because my ride was coming up the block. He accepted this and left. My Uber showed up and I went home without issue. However, the next week when he came in, as he left, he paid me my usual compliment, which at this point I just ignored because they were starting to get annoying.

Instead of saying, see you next week, he told me that he would see me later, which I paid no real attention to until later when we were closing. I set up my Uber ride as we locked up and I waited on the curb. I quickly glanced at the license plate on the app like I always did and I checked as the car pulled in. Lo and behold, it was my patient. As I got in, I immediately thought back to when he said he would see me later. I immediately went into my app and changed the address from my exact apartment to my apartment complex entrance. I didn't want him to know where I lived. As we were driving, he made small talk and referenced that now it was his turn to drive me around since I had done the same for him at my job.

I laughed it off. Yeah, guess we're even now. But then he asked me if I wanted to go to his place, which was close by. I told him I remembered where he lived, but I'd rather go home after a long work day. He got upset, and he asked why I always rejected his advances. I explained I just enjoyed being single. He laughed and told me that nobody enjoys being single, and he said that a pretty girl like me deserved someone to love and care for her, but my attitude would need to improve. I was a bit taken aback and just stopped talking to him altogether. Then he started driving off the map's guided route.

I told him to get back on that road and made a fuss about how he was driving away from my apartment. I had to pull out my phone and start dialing a friend to get him to turn around. I stayed on the phone with that friend until he got to my apartment complex. When he asked me which unit was mine, I got out, told him to mind his business, and took a long walk around, checking behind me to make sure that he had left. Once I no longer saw his car, I sprinted to my apartment and I cried out of anger and fear. I don't know what his plan was for that night. I don't know if he waited nearby to accept my

ride request. Knowing when I left work, I took Uber. I don't know what he would have done if I led him to my apartment. Needless to say, I told my boss about what happened, and he made sure that I never had to be around that patient when he came in. And soon after, I got my own car. To the patient who became my Uber driver, let's not meet again. Spark something uncommon this holiday season with incredible hand-picked gifts from Uncommon Goods. They make your holiday shopping stress-free by scouring the globe for original, handmade, and absolutely remarkable things for everyone on your list. These gifts spark joy, wonder, delight, and give you that exactly what I wanted feeling. Whether you're shopping for your secret Santa

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Now back to the show. As a longtime fan of the podcast, I'm eager to share one of my experiences. I live in Manila, Philippines, and if you've ever been here, you know what the city can be like. Despite living here since college, I've never felt safe outside. This story happened four years ago when I was 31 years old. I'm a female, now 35, and a small business owner. This happened around August after one of my client meetings. As the client's location had limited parking spaces, I opted to use a ride sharing app

to get there and, fortunately, I arrived early and waited for my meeting to begin. Unfortunately, the presentation took longer than anticipated. I wanted to avoid the rush hour because booking a ride was difficult enough as it was. Normally, I would use the train or bus to get home, but I had my laptop and other presentation materials which made it impossible. Therefore, not having driven there was a bad decision. With no other options, I decided to wait for a cab, even though they have a bad reputation in this city for cheating passengers and charging exorbitant fees.

I hated the idea, but I had no other choice. Several taxis drove past me, but most of them already had passengers. Unfortunately, my luck worsened when it started raining. In Manila, when it rains, it's almost impossible to find any kind of public transportation. After waiting around for 20 minutes, I finally managed to flag down a taxi. The taxi driver opened the passenger side door.

I usually sit in the back, but I made an exception this day because I was desperate. I didn't think too much of it. I thought that he was kind in opening the door for me, since the weather was so terrible. I discovered how wrong I was. I fastened my seatbelt and told the driver to take me to a shopping mall near my workplace. He agreed, but asked if we could take an alternate route to avoid heavy traffic. I agreed, as this was not unusual in Manila.

He began to engage me in conversation. He said, You're very pretty. My name's Edward. What's yours? I responded with my nickname. He then extended his hand out for a handshake, which seemed unusual, but I went along with it.

His grasp was more like a massage making me uncomfortable and disgusted. He complimented my hands and skin as he inquired about my relationship status. He said, your hands are very soft. You have very smooth skin. Do you have a boyfriend? He sure is lucky.

Of course, alarm bells started to ring like a fire truck siren in my head. I wondered if I should ask him to return to my client's office and pretend I had forgotten something. Looking at the heavy traffic, I knew that was impossible. I thought I'd just play along until I was able to reach a place where I could politely say I'm getting out for whatever reason I would come up with. He continued asking me more personal questions about my age, birthday, and job. I just invented half of the things that I told him. Now my mind was filled with various scenarios.

I didn't like how he was looking at me. I felt disgusted whenever he turned to stare at me. I wore this very ordinary but smart looking at me. I felt disgusted whenever he turned to stare at me. I wore this very ordinary but smart looking white top and black pants. The Philippines is a hot country, so my top was naturally thinner. Whenever he looked at me,

I felt like he was undressing me. And yes, he could glance at me often because of the heavy traffic. It was like we were in the middle of a never-ending parking lot. That's when an idea came to me. What if I just open the door and run? But the area that I was in was pretty dangerous.

I didn't want my laptop and other possessions to get stolen, plus it was pouring outside. We were on the route that he suggested, and I attempted to verify it on ways, since I'm not very good with directions. I was relieved to see that it was indeed the right way, and again, he kept on trying to continue the conversation. We reached an area with many restaurants and other establishments, like motels.

He said, I'm hungry. Let's stop at one of the restaurants. I'll treat you to dinner. I immediately declined. He asked me if something was wrong. I sensed a shift in his tone and felt like it would be best not to agitate him since I was unsure of his thoughts. I replied, it's just that I need to return to the office as soon as possible or my boss will get angry. As a reminder, I'm a small business owner,

so there is no boss." He insisted. "'It won't take long, and I'll take you to your office when we're done.' Again, I said no." After thinking a bit, seemingly pleased, he said, "'I know, let's just go to McDonald's drive-thru.' I politely refused this new suggestion,

but he drove there anyway. I was so irritated that I couldn't just get out and run away in the stormy weather. When we arrived at McDonald's, he asked me what I wanted. I stopped protesting and just ordered some chicken nuggets and a coffee. When we got our orders, I held onto that hot coffee, thinking I'd burn his face with it if he tried something with me. Again, I checked my Waze app to see how much longer I had to endure this. It would be 20 more minutes. I told myself to just hang in there and be patient.

I thanked him for the food and we were on our way again. He kept talking and I simply replied to whatever he asked. Then he asked me for my number. Good thing I had my work phone. I gave him that number because I felt like he'd try to confirm it by calling me immediately. I was correct. He immediately called to confirm that I had given him a real phone number. Finally, I could see the mall near my office. As we stopped in front of the building, I tried to pay for my fare, but he wouldn't

even accept it. I insisted, so he took my money, but he told me, keep in touch, okay? I said yes and pretended to enter the establishment calmly as he waved goodbye. After getting inside, my knees suddenly felt weak and I started shaking. I consoled myself by saying, Good job. You did well. It's all over now. Then my phone rang. It was him. I didn't answer, of course. I blocked him immediately after that missed call. To the hungry taxi driver, let's not meet again. This happened about a year ago. There were so many terrible factors working against me that night, I'm astounded I got away unscathed. At least physically.

This all begins when I'm at my friend's apartment, who lives in a really rough part of town. In a series of poor decisions, that night I decided to get belligerently drunk and take a few pills of God knows what. I know, I know. Safe to say, after a solid night of partying, around 4 AM, I was not in the right state of mind. My drug-addled brain decides that instead of staying the night at my friend's apartment

like I normally would, I wanted to Uber back to my own apartment. My friend's apartment had two separate entrances slash exits to the building. One in the back, unlit parking lot of the building, and one facing the street. They had two sets of keys for each door, and I only had keys to the one in the back of the apartment. Since my Uber would obviously arrive at the street, and the door in the front of the building locks itself behind you,

I exited this way when the driver was soon to arrive. Looking back, standing outside that apartment, I realize I looked like the easiest target on the planet. I'm a small, petite female in my early twenties, and I can hardly stay upright. I'm using a street lamp to prop myself up and not doing a good job at that either. The light was basically a beacon

for any nearby predators saying, come get me. I'm not paying attention to my surroundings at all in this state, despite the fact that there was literally a bullet hole in the front door I just came out of. Not good. I remember checking to see what car I was getting picked up in, and was only able to pick out the fact that it was a black sedan. Soon after stepping outside, a black sedan pulls up to the curb

and starts rolling down the window, so I step forward. Before this man even spoke, I could feel something was wrong. He had an expression like he was tearing me apart with just his eyes. After seeing that look, it gave me a new meaning to the word predator to describe a criminal, because I then knew what it felt like to be prey. He basically barks at me, I'm your Uber driver. This was the second red flag that somehow made its way through my brain. Normally Uber drivers just roll down the window and say, fossil fool 12?

Or any version of that. But always including your name. I think I just stared at him for a second, my brain slowly piecing together the situation I was potentially in, and I ask him, what's my name? He immediately is enraged, and starts screaming about he doesn't have fucking time for this, and just get in the fucking car, etc. etc. etc. I don't think I've ever sobered up so fast in my life. I'm completely panicking.

Obviously, this wasn't my Uber. Quickly checking the license plate, I immediately see it's not a match. Meanwhile, this guy is still screaming at me, and I have absolutely no idea what to do. If I bolt in either direction, this guy could easily outrun me or have a weapon. I'm also pretty sure at this point that if he's trying to nab a random girl off the street, he must have a weapon of some sort. I can't run back into the apartment door right behind me since it locks behind you, and I don't have the keys keys nor the time to unlock it.

Running towards the back door would do nothing as well, as he's idling right by the mouth of the driveway towards the back parking lot, and again, I would have to take the time to find the right keys and get in. If I screamed, I'm not exactly in the type of neighborhood where someone would try to be a vigilante, and I can still hear the music radiating from my friend's third floor apartment. I knew they wouldn't hear me. Also it's 4am and absolutely no one is around.

People talk a lot on this sub how they either sprint into action or freeze, but I felt incapable of doing either. It was the absolute worst feeling I've ever felt in my life. Everything in me wanted to run, but I felt that if I did, it would be the end of me. But if I kept standing there, staring in shock at this screaming man, the result would be the same. From when he started screaming at me to this point,

I'm guessing only twenty seconds has passed by. Just as he's looking like he's getting ready to get out of the car, another black sedan pulls up right behind him. Checking the license plate as quickly as I can, I realize it's my actual Uber and make a full sprint to the car, really only like six steps, and throw myself in, screaming at my real Uber driver, what's my name? The poor dude looks terrified, but responds with my name quickly, to which I reply, get me the fuck out of here. That man is trying to kidnap me.

If I was in this Uber driver's position, I think I would be too shocked to react as quickly as he did. But my dude flew out of there, offered to call the cops for me, which I declined and now regret. And then walked me to the front door of my apartment, ensuring I got inside safely. Truly an incredible human being. You can rest easy knowing he got the fattest tip my college student bank account would allow for,

although he deserved much, much more. So to the man who ruined my sense of security and caused countless anxiety attacks when out in public for months, let's not meet. Get ready for Las Vegas style action at BenMGM, the king of online casinos. Enjoy casino games at your fingertips with the same Vegas strip excitement MGM is famous for when you play classics like MGM Grand Millions, or popular games like Blackjack, Baccarat and Roulette. Download the BenMGM Casino app today.

BenMGM and GameSense remind you to play responsibly. BenMGM.com for T's and C's, 9p plus to wait your Ontario only. Please play responsibly. If you have questions or concerns about gambling or someone close to you, please contact Connix Hey Torontonians, recycling is more than a routine, it's a vital responsibility. By recycling properly, you help conserve resources, reduce energy use in greenhouse gas emissions, and protect the environment. Toronto's Blue Bin Recycling Program ensures the majority of the right items are recovered and transformed into new products. Recycling Right is important and impactful. Let's work together and make a difference, because small actions lead to big change. For more tips on recycling visit toronto.ca slash recycle right. This was either my second or third year in New York City, so it was about eight years ago. I was living in the Lower East Side. I had just moved from Williamsburg, where most of my friends

still lived. It was right across from the Williamsburg Bridge and it took a huge chunk away from my commute. I worked in Chelsea, L train if you know. On the weekends I would usually go there. Sometimes they would come here. But most of them lived in Brooklyn. So it was a normal occasion to spend my nights over there. We would usually go out but loved staying in, ordering Chinese food, and watching movies. I did know most of the bars, some of them I was a regular at since I used to live down the street. This night we were out at our favorite place. I remember it was winter and very snowy so we decided to part ways sooner than usual.

It was probably around 1 a.m. I was in my 20s and this was New York City, so I called an Uber. And they were 10 minutes away. In New York Standard, that is forever, so I cancelled. Luckily there was an unlit taxi coming down Berry Street. My friend insisted and flagged it down so I got in. He had great intentions of getting me home safe. Everything went as usual and I told the driver my cross streets. Now usually going over the bridge is a reminder of why you love New

York, especially after a few drinks, glancing out of the windows and seeing the amazing view of the city. My thoughts were immediately interrupted, however, by my driver. You're beautiful. Do you have a boyfriend? I replied, uh, yes, I do. But I didn't. Wow, what a lucky guy.

And I shit you not, this guy reached his hand in the back and touched my thigh. I pushed it away as he was trying to stroke my thigh, but he still kept at it, getting a little too close for comfort if you know what I mean. I kept shaking my legs out of the way but he would clamp on and kept trying to slide up. At this point I was panicking. I sneakily texted my parents who were states away and told them what was happening. He kept asking me if I wanted to go out for a drink with him tonight. I obviously kept declining. But then I had a thought. If he drops me off where I asked, he'll know where I live. He kept on asking to go to this karaoke bar that I recognized in my

neighborhood. Doing karaoke is scarier to me than this situation, so of course I had never been. We finally came down over the bridge. I made the decision to agree. I would go in, I would tell the bartender the situation, then get the fuck out of there. We park right in front and walk up. To my horror, he hugs the bouncer and shakes hands. They are close friends. He then introduces me as his new blonde and we go

in. I sit at the bar waiting to get the bartender's attention but she comes over and excitedly calls my driver by his name. Two drinks for us without him even needing to order. I didn't think I could even tell her. I'm not drinking anything this guy gets me, even if I see that it's made from this seemingly nice woman. I tell him I have to go to the bathroom, leaving just my coat not to be suspicious. I look at my phone and I have 15 texts from my parents. I call them, explain, and ask what I should do.

They told me to walk straight out, grab my coat, and leave as soon as possible. So I do just that, right after hanging up. And to my surprise, this guy isn't even at the bar. Perfect. I beeline it outside. And there he is, smoking a a cigarette talking to the bouncer. As I go to leave, he grabs my arm and asks where I'm going. And I just keep fucking walking, ripping his arm away.

He then follows me for about two blocks, then confronts me again, grabbing both of my arms. I pretty much yell at him that I'm not interested for the millionth time. And this dude throws my arms out of his hands so hard that I stumble and fall backwards. He towered over me as I'm now on the sidewalk and yelled that I'm a bitch and that I shouldn't have let him on.

I can still remember his spit on my face as he yelled at me. Then he stormed off. I gathered myself and ran. Once I calmed down, I looped around different blocks for an hour, even though it was freezing, before I went home. I still avoid that bar. And to that fucking handsy cabbie, let's never meet again. I'm a 5'4 female. I used to work in law enforcement but finally left that line of work due to refusing to work anywhere that affects my mental health. I also refused to work anywhere

I felt was corrupt. When I was in between careers, I was driving for Uber. I am very paranoid due to my former line of work and all of the true crime podcasts that I listen to. On this particular weekend, my city was being invaded by pirates. When this happens, the city throws a parade down by the water. I knew it would be a great weekend to make money due to the adults using the pirate parade as an excuse to drink and dress up like a pirate while catching some beads from the parade.

I logged in and quickly received a request for a pickup. I drove to the destination displayed on my GPS and pulled up to a house. There were absolutely no lights on inside this house or in the backyard. The street was quiet. I parked and I let the rider know that I arrived to pick them up, and I was out front. A man then appeared from seemingly nowhere out of the shadows and asked if I was the Uber driver. I told him that I was and he got into my car.

I started driving down the road when I got a phone call from the name of the person who was supposed to be in my car getting the Uber ride. The man in the back seat told me that his daughter was having a party at his house. He explained he stopped by to check things out before leaving to stay with his girlfriend for the night. I thought this was strange since, as I said before, there were no lights on inside the house and no cars out front or in the driveway.

There definitely wasn't a party going on at that house. My phone was still ringing, so I picked it up. It was a woman who told me I must have picked up the wrong person. She said that she was still at the given address waiting for me. The man in the back seat said, Oh, I must have gotten into my daughter's friend's Uber. She was waiting for an Uber as well. He then handed me $60 and told me to go back and get her after I dropped him off. He said that he would cash app her since he took the Uber my mistake.

He was insistent about me going back to get her even after I told him that I couldn't do that or take his money. I eventually told the man and the woman on the phone that I would do what they wanted me to do since I was getting bad vibes. I was creeped out by the man since he kept leaning closer to me as I was driving. I was carrying a knife in my bra, and I also store a blackjack under my leg on the driver's seat. I also have an open pocket knife right next to me in my compartment on the driver's side door since I'm so paranoid.

There is no way I'm going down without a fight if anyone tries something. The man stopped lurching toward me when I told him that I would go back to that dark house for his daughter's friend after I dropped him off. Then I dropped him off around the corner from where he said that his girlfriend lived. I most certainly did not go back to that dark house to pick up the girl who was supposedly waiting for a ride.

I was freaked out. I called it quits for the night right away and went straight home after reporting the instance to Uber. They never received any complaints about the incorrect pickup at the address I provided them, which makes me believe without a doubt that I was correct in being paranoid. The man was hoping that I'd go back to that dark house to pick up the girl who was waiting.

But had I done that, the ride wouldn't have been recorded on the app. If anything were to happen to me, there would be no record of it. My paranoia and years in law enforcement prevented me from being kidnapped or worse that night. So to the sketchy man and the girl who was waiting, Let's Not Ever Meet again. What a better way to celebrate Halloween than at a live Let's Not Meet show. I'll be at Show Bar this Wednesday, October 30th in Portland, Oregon, for the final live show of the year. Tickets are available at letsnotmeetpodcast.com slash tour, or just follow the link in the show notes.

Costumes are highly encouraged, but not required. However, the venue did notify me that fake weapons are not allowed, so keep that in mind. Tickets are super low, so make sure that you get them soon before they sell out. I'll see you all there. landlord telling you to just put on another sweater when your apartment is below 21 degrees? Are they suggesting you can just put a bucket under a leak in your ceiling? That's not good enough. Your Toronto apartment should be safe and well maintained.

If it isn't and your landlord isn't responding to maintenance requests, Rent Safe TO can help. Learn more at toronto.ca slash rentsafeTO. Hey Torontonians. Recycling is more than a routine. It's a vital responsibility. By recycling properly, you help conserve resources, reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, and protect the environment. Toronto's Blue Bin Recycling Program ensures the majority of the right items are recovered and transformed into new products. Recycling right is important and impactful. Let's work together and make a difference, because small actions lead to big change.

For more tips on recycling, visit toronto.ca slash recycle right. Yesterday my sister and I traveled home from across the country to arrive at the airport at 11.59 p.m. After eight hours of flying, we were quite excited to grab a quick Uber and be home shortly. My sister opened up her app and confirmed that the ride was there as we were walking out of the terminal. But that Uber driver quickly canceled on us.

And I realized that the rates were surging and he likely dropped us to pick up a new ride at a higher rate since three large flights were just landing at that time. No big deal. I told her we would walk outside and schedule a new Uber driver when we got to the rideshare area. We were met with an icy 32 degree night with lots of wind which is unusual for that area.

It was almost painful as the wind hit our faces. We hurried over to the covered ride share spot and started the process on my phone to grab another Uber while staying amongst the crowd of shivering bodies also waiting for their rides. After just a few minutes we were assigned a new Uber driver. We'll call him Timothy. Our airport has a lot that's specifically for a cell phone waiting and ride shares, basically meaning people waiting on a call to come pick up their passenger who has just arrived. I quickly noticed that Timothy showed up on the map outside of this

area in a different parking lot, away from the other Uber drivers who were on the map in the cell phone parking lot. I thought that was a little odd, but I mean, who knows? Maybe he was already driving around. It took him a bit longer to get to us than it should have, showing that he stayed in the parking lot that he was in for a couple of minutes before starting towards us. Again, kind of out of the ordinary for an Uber driver,

at least in my experience. We had, of course, looked at his profile. He had a 4.9 rating and over a thousand rides, so he seemed legit and proven as far as an Uber driver goes. My sister and I anxiously waited for the driver to come over to us on the little Uber map, looking forward to getting into a warm car and out of the freezing night.

By this time, it was roughly 1230 a.m. and we were ready to get home. As we climbed into the car, I noticed the seats. They were the first dirty seats I'd ever seen in an Uber. And we'd been taking Ubers our entire trip for the past four days. There seemed to be liquid stains on them that had been poorly cleaned. That was the first thing that grabbed my attention, other than an awkward vibe. four days. There seemed to be liquid stains on them that had been poorly cleaned. That was the first thing that grabbed my attention, other than an awkward vibe. We added her address to the ride since we live in different places. Basically, he was to drive about 20 minutes

to my house, drop me off, and then another 25 minutes to her house and drop her off. He seemed happy about the longer route and explained that he had just sat in the lot and waited for the price surge to rise as passengers were getting off the planes and requesting rides. I guess he got to the rate that he liked and accepted us as a ride to pick up. He told us, I could have waited for the price to get even higher but something told me to go ahead and get a ride and it was you guys. I guess karma brought us together. As we started our journey, Timothy said he likes to play a game when passengers have

a longer ride with him, and asked if we'd like to play by answering some questions. My sister and I are pretty intelligent and usually right on top of owning some trivia, so we agreed and said, let's play. His first question, how old do you think the earth is? Okay, seems fair. We made our guesses and then he told us the factual answer. Seemed like some friendly trivia to us. Next question, how long do you think

that modern humanity has been around? As in humans with opposable thumbs, conscious thoughts and the concept of time. We make our guesses, and we're close to the answer that he had in mind. Great. Next question. Do you believe in supernatural things like ghosts? We say maybe, and he asks if we have ever had any supernatural experiences of our own. I tell him that I have. I feel like I felt my parents' presence around me since they both passed away years ago, and here and there I feel somebody stroke my hair or rub my back. Or sometimes I think I even smell them.

My sister agrees and says that she has similar things occur with her. Timothy said he once was a non-believer in the supernatural, but had his mind changed when he lived in an alleged haunted house. He then goes into a story about how he lived in a house locally that he and his roommate would hear crying children in. When there were no children there, day or a

night, they would hear crying or noises of children in general. I'll make this shorter than he did. But the backstory to the house was apparently this. According to him, a local teacher had taken these children of different ages and kept them at this house in bad conditions, no electricity, living in filth, hungry and scared. He had done bad things to them, and they were kept in the house together by him against their will. As the weather became colder, the children got desperate and cold.

They found a way to light a fire in the house in the middle of one of the rooms for warmth. The fire attracted attention and the authorities arrived on the scene and found the children, thus exposing the entire situation. The house did not burn down and from what he said, none of the children died, at least as a result of the fire that day. Apparently Timothy and his roommate were the first people to live in the house since the fire.

He said they found this information out from a neighbor to the house when they mentioned to them that they had heard the crying and the childlike noises in there. Next question. Do we believe in aliens? Well, maybe. We live in an infinite universe, more vast than we can imagine. He agrees and throws some facts out about space.

Things seem back to normal, just a weird trivia game, again, kind of. The vibe in the car was heavy with discomfort, and at this point I handed my sister my portable battery pack because I knew her phone was on low battery. I did not want her and the car with this guy and a dead phone for sure. As I handed it to her, we exchanged glances and I knew that we were feeling that same creepy atmosphere that was growing stronger. She texted me that she was thinking about getting off at my house instead of going home.

Next question. Do we believe people can communicate with the dead? I say not really. My sister says maybe. No discussion was had over this answer and he just went on. No discussion was had over this answer and he just went on. Next question. Do you believe people have souls? We both say yes. He follows with, what do we think constitutes a soul? I say I think energy of a being, along with their consciousness, emotions, and the ability to connect to others. My sister agrees. He asks, do we think dogs and cats have souls? I say, I think dogs for sure, and I'm not sold on cats. I ask him if he believes people have souls, and he replies that he's not a religious person at all, so he doesn't really believe in any of that.

Next question, do you believe that people can be alive and not have a soul? At this point, you could cut the dreadful atmosphere in this car with a knife, and both my sister and I were mentally plotting to tuck and roll in this situation without even communicating about it. We were getting close to our house, and I broke the conversation by telling him that the turn to my neighborhood wasn't obvious and that he needed to be on the lookout, and I'd tell him where to slow down.

Timothy brought that conversation right back around to, do we think people can live without a soul? I said I'd heard about black-eyed children and other lore-type tales, but that I'd never personally encountered somebody that I felt didn't have an essence to them. Then I asked him what he thought, if he believed that people could exist without a soul, and he answered, it doesn't matter what I think. It only matters what the writers think. The way he said it, I was done. My sister and I both empathetic and can pick up on a person's energy easily and rather

quickly. I looked over at her. She looked like she was about to vomit. My fight or flight response was at 110% fight already, and I was just keeping the conversation confident at this point. She had stopped responding altogether a few questions back. We were on my street at this point, nearing my house. As we pulled up, my sister canceled the second half of the ride from my

house to hers. And before I even knew that she did that, I looked at her and said, Hey, you don't look like you're feeling well. Do you want to spend the night with me? And she said, Yes, that would be great because she felt like she could vomit. He laughed a little bit. And he said, she could vomit. He laughed a little bit, and he said, just don't throw up in my car. The tone in his voice was different. You could tell that he was thrown off and disappointed that she no longer would be riding with him for another 25 minutes alone. We hurried into my house and just looked at each other, knowing that we were lucky to be home. I don't know if she

would have made it home if she had continued on the ride with him. My gut says that she probably would not have. Without talking about it at all in the car, we both had the same high alert and uneasy feeling. The kind of feeling you get when something bad is about to happen. The kind of gut feeling that you know you had better pay attention to. Both of us certain that one of the upcoming questions could have been, do you believe that you are not going home tonight? Thanks for listening and stick around after the music for your extended version of this week's episode with some brand new stories.

If you want to get access, head over to patreon.com forward slash let's not be podcast to sign up and support the show today to get access to all kinds of bonus content with stories you won't hear anywhere else and add free episodes. Again that's patreon.com forward slash let's not meet podcast. This week you have heard he followed us into our Uber by Sydney. No More Ubers by Anonymous, Scary Uber Ride from a Patient by Mouse, Hungry Taxi Driver by Ali, Fake Uber Driver by Fossil Fool 12, Bad Cab Story by Liz, and Uber Scare by Vanessa, and finally Creepy Uber Driver by FossilFool12, Bad Cab Story by Liz, and Uber Scare by Vanessa, and finally Creepy Uber Driver by Taco HX.

All of the stories you've heard this week were narrated and produced with the permission of their respective authors. Let's Not Meet, a true horror podcast is not associated with Reddit or any of the message boards online. If you have a story to share, send it to letsnotmeetstoriesatgmail.com. Finally, don't forget to check out the new episodes of my other podcasts like Odd Trails, Cryptic Encounters, and the Old Time Radio Cast at crypticcountypodcasts.com or wherever you get your podcasts.

I'll see everyone in Portland this Wednesday, and I'll see the rest of you next week. Everyone, stay safe. Get ready for Las Vegas style action at BenMGM, the king of online casinos. Enjoy casino games at your fingertips with the same Vegas trip excitement MGM is famous for when you play classics like MGM Grand Millions, or popular games like Blackjack, Baccarat, and Roulette. Download the Bet MGM Casino app today! Bet MGM and GameSense remind you to play responsibly. BetMGM.com for T's and C's.

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