Let's Not Meet: A True Horror Podcast - 15x24: The Woods Behind My House

Episode Date: December 15, 2025

Stories in this episode: Capitol Hill Casanova | Mess of a Dreamer (0:39) Attempted Kidnapping...Twice in Life. | Pritti Little Missile (10:35) Followed at a Highway Stop Near the End of a Long Road Trip | gnome-Frankenstein (15:35) Ballroom Dance Classes Led to Getting Stalked for 8 Years | Witchy-willow (23:14) In the woods behind my house | Sa_gey (32:41) My Sassiness Saved Me From Kidnapping | pizzas1ut (37:34) NYC Kidnapped and Abused | AccordinBezzindatrap (41:54) Extended Patreon Content: Carl, The Mall Santa | Jon Catfished and Stalked by An Estranged Wife  | Ashley An Unforgettable Birthday at My Parents’ Lake House | Calamity Kate Sometimes Scary Neighbors Need Help Too | Mimmi Due to periodic changes in ad placement, time stamps are estimates and are not always accurate. Want Bonus Weekly Stories? Hate Ads? Join our Patreon for only $5 a month for over 100 hours of bonus content, and it's all ad-free! Send your stories to [e-mail].    This December, start a new tradition, by taking care of you. Our listeners get 10% off at BetterHelp.com/notmeet. For a limited time, save on the perfect gift by visiting AuraFrames.com to get $35 off Aura’s best-selling Carver Mat frames - named #1 by Wirecutter - by using promo code MEET at checkout. Join the Discord:https://discord.gg/84WXQud4gE Follow: - Twitch - https://twitch.tv/crypticcounty - Website - https://letsnotmeetpodcast.com/ - Patreon - https://patreon.com/letsnotmeetpodcast - Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/letsnotmeetcast/ 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.            

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If you have a story to share, send it to Let's Not Meet Stories at gmail.com. Back in 2014, I had gone on my first date with my first date with a guy the guy that I had gone on my first date with a guy that. that I had matched with on Tinder. I lived in D.C. at the time and worked on Capitol Hill for a U.S. congressman. I was 28 or 29 back then. While nice, handsome, and a self-declared southern gentleman, Tinder guy was extremely pushy leading up to our first date.

My job was even more insanely busy than normal during that time, often requiring frequent all-nighters and entailing exactly zero social life to speak of. Looking back now, it's painfully obvious that I absolutely did not have the time or space in my life for dating back then. But after months of my best friend begging me to let her create a tender profile for me, I basically agreed. For weeks, I'd tried to reschedule said first date due to work being crazy, but Tender Guy literally would not take no for an answer. He was also extremely manipulative and quite gifted at it. He basically guilt-tripped me into finally agreeing to a first date.

Dinner was the only activity mentioned for the date, so I went through with it. While the date went fine on paper and probably looked as such to fellow patrons and bystanders, Tinder guy nonetheless gave me the ick for some reason. But at the time I couldn't lock down why. He was nice, polite, had a great job, was attractive. But still, something about the way that he would gaze at me so intently without blinking was so unsettling. It was like he was playing some intense staring contest, where he was the only contestant.

There were a lot of other red flags during our date, But the first major one was the fact that I was casually held hostage, or at least it felt that way. At the conclusion of our dinner, after politely thanking him for the meal, and knowing 100% that there would not be a second date with this guy, I tried to make my ex at home. I told him that I had a busy and early workday ahead of me for the next day, which wasn't a lie. Instead of letting me go home, Tinder guy pressured me into going to a,

bar next door with him for a nightcap. Looking back now and also thanks to therapy, I've learned a lot about manipulation and how it can be weaponized. The tender guy was doing exactly this, and he was a master at it. I had no chance. After drinking two drinks that I didn't even want, I again mentioned that I needed to get home with a little more conviction this time. The guy acted like he didn't hear me. He got up and headed to the bar before returning with beers for both of us. I was beginning to get annoyed and pissed, so after a few minutes I faked receiving an incoming call from my boss,

essentially channeling my inner Merrill Streep, and attempted to give the best acting performance of my life. Not to pat myself on the back or anything, but I should get an Oscar because it worked. Tinder guy totally bought my performance, and he finally stopped ignoring my plea. to go home. He finally agreed to let me go. However, he insisted on sharing an Uber even though we lived in completely separate neighborhoods, nowhere near each other. I wasn't crazy about this idea

since I absolutely didn't want him to gain any sort of idea of where I lived. Quite frankly, I knew at that point that I did not want to spend one more minute being trapped in a confined space like a car with him. So I tried to refuse repeatedly, as I was feeling extremely uncomfortable, but he literally wouldn't take no for an answer. Against my better judgment, though, I silently stomached my anxiety and concerns, and we proceeded to Uber to my neighborhood.

However, I did put a drop-off address in at a different house a few blocks from my place, so he wouldn't have my exact address. Once we were in my neighborhood, as I attempted to disembark from the car as quickly as the flash, the tender guy followed behind, grabbed my shoulder, and spun me around before aggressively kissing me. He was straight up manhandling my face with his tongue.

When he finally let go of me, I was trying my best to swallow back vomit, and after ten minutes of placating him, I finally got him to accept that this nightmare of a first date was over and that I was going to sleep. He reluctantly agreed to leave. As soon as the Uber left with Tinder Guy and was out of sight, I ran to my actual home

and locked the deadbolt to the door, as soon as I got inside, and I sank to the floor in disbelief. In the end, I was just relieved to be home safe and sound. I was grateful that I had survived the date with a deeply unsettling, creepy, and disconcerting man. I'd even joked to my roommates at the time. Well, can't wait to never talk to a guy like that again.

Immediately following our date, Tender Guy proceeded to send me a barrage of texts for the rest of the night, fawning all over me and mostly asking over and over again, can we video chat? Keep in mind, this was literally an hour after I had gotten home from our date. I lied and said that I was already in bed and basically asleep since I had zero intention to ever sleep. speak to this person again, and I naively thought that that was going to be the end of it. Tinder guy then continued to text me nonstop over the next few days, and I'd either ignore him or send him very curt responses. While it was a cop out, I was planning on messaging him to let him down gently at the end of the week when I wasn't swimming in work craziness.

As I mentioned earlier, and for context for what I'm about to describe next, I worked on Capitol Hill for a U.S. congressman at the time, and as such, my office was subject to strict security screenings. There were metal detectors, security, and even an x-ray scanner at the building entrance, which also extended to incoming mail, packages, and deliveries. The day after the first date debacle, I got a call from my office line on the off-site Capitol Hill Package Center,

stating that they were processing and screening a package for me that could be delivered to my office in two days. I thought, that's odd. I wasn't expecting anything who would mail me something here. But I shrugged it off as it wasn't the first time I had received unsolicited packages due to the nature of my job. But I forgot all about it until Friday.

Our office receptionist came to my cubicle with an obnoxiously gaudy over-the-top bouquet of roses, and in a company and card. Right away I knew who was responsible. However, the reason I felt so deeply unsettled was the sheer fact that I had never told Tender Guy who I worked for, or hell, even what state or delegation my boss belonged to. I had given him zero clues as to whom I worked for, purposefully, might I add. And my social media settings were pretty tight, so I didn't have any of this information available on any of my online profiles.

either, not even LinkedIn. I also hadn't given this guy my last name, so I have no idea how he would have found it to begin with. There were and are 535 total congressional offices on Capitol Hill, 435 House offices, and 100 Senate offices. That said, there are over 15,000 congressional staffers who work on the Hill. And there is no telling how many staffers, especially people who share the first name, that he had to go through to search for my last name and office address. Needless to say, if I wasn't creeped out enough by this guy before, I was full-fledged, freaked at this point, especially after reading the note that accompanied the flowers. Some lowlights from that were him talking about how great of a kisser I was, what he wanted

to do to me, how he hoped I could meet his family, and how he couldn't wait to see me again. One good thing that came out of this experience is that it finally gave me the balls to end things with this guy via text. Dating is the worst, and until this experience, if I was talking to someone but also knew that I wasn't interested,

I would still engage and respond to messages because I didn't want to hurt their feelings. Now I realize how unfair that was to the other person and have since vowed that I'll never cop out when it comes to uncomfortable issues, and I'll send a message that the recipient deserves to hear. This experience has also helped instill in me that whole fuck politeness mantra.

I'm fortunately, in a serious long-term relationship now, but in regular life, if I ever feel uncomfortable or uneasy, like this guy made me feel, I now fight the urge to be agreeable and polite, and be direct. Stay safe. I'm 40 years old now, but I have had two separate men at two separate times in my life tried to kidnap me. The first time happened when I was in fourth grade, when I was about 10.

My family and I lived in a neighborhood across the street from my school. It was a busy street. Most of the kids would go under the street through a drainage ditch to get across the street rather than fight traffic to get across. We did this walking to and from school every day.

One day, my brother was waiting for me on the other side so I went into the drainage ditch to go under the street. And when I got under there, in the shadows, I saw a man who was waiting. In my little kid brain I tried to quickly walk past him rather than turn around but as I passed

he grabbed the hold of my shirt and tried to drag me from under the road and through the ditch when the man dragged me out of the shadows my little brother saw what was happening I'm not sure how but he jumped into action

he threw his bike at him so the guy let me go and ran off the next day a man matching his description assaulted a girl right on the side of the road. I think that my brother truly saved me from something sinister.

However, there was a second time when I was nearly abducted. I was about 21, so I was still young and oblivious. My car had broken down in a sketchy neighborhood, but I was able to pull it into a parking lot. It was colder outside, and I was wearing a hoodie. I called my brother-in-law for help, but he was about 30 minutes away.

So I got out of my car and started walking toward the store. As I was halfway through walking across the parking lot, this newer model BMW came screeching into the parking lot. The driver then threw his door open right next to me, grabbed the hood of my hoodie, and tried to pull me into the car. I snatched my hoodie free from his grasp, and I ran until I was inside the store. The man then pulled into the parking lot,

and then went into the store as well. The lady behind the counter didn't speak English very well, so she didn't understand what was happening as I was hiding in the aisle. As he walked in, he shouted, Where's the girl at the clerk? A few seconds later, he saw me hiding and yelled, Get in the car. I was dumbfounded, fumbling for words.

So I just said, I'm not sure who you think I am, but I'm not who you're looking for. After some back and forth, he finally gave up and left me alone. To my two attempted kidnappers, let's not meet. This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp.

Holidays are full of traditions, some that we grew up with and some that we end up making on our own. Every year I find myself thinking about which one still feel meaningful and which ones I'm ready to rewrite. One tradition I've been trying to keep alive is slowing down long enough to actually reflect on the year, not rushing through December, not letting the chaos win, just giving myself space to check in. Therapy has played a big part in that for me. Therapy gave me a place to sort through the noise during a time of year when everything can feel louder, holidays, expectations, family routines, changing traditions. Having that kind of space helped me realize I'm allowed to create new traditions that work for me, even if they don't look

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traditions, starting new ones, or figuring out what the holidays even mean to you, taking time for yourself can be the tradition that anchors everything else. This December, start a new tradition by taking care of you. Our listeners get 10% off at betterhelp.com slash not meet. That's betterhelp.com slash not meet. This happened when I was traveling with my wife on a trip up to the mountains. Our destination was extremely far from home. We had been on the road for nearly the entire day when we settled on a small town up ahead on the highway that had a family restaurant, which we thought looked good for a brief stop on the road before we continued onward to our hotel.

Ultimately, the restaurant and the hotel were about half an hour apart, not so far that it would feel like an eternity driving after we ate, but close enough to be considered the same quote-unquote town. So we plugged the restaurant into the GPS, got to the x-pern't, exit and turned off the highway to go eat. As soon as I got off the highway, I, being an out-of-towner, bore witness to the most confusing traffic pattern I'd ever personally had to navigate. I'm not going to describe it in great detail, but imagine a standard exit onto a country

intersection ramp and then add three layers of traffic signals, some of which diverted other cars from the main road onto the exit portion of our highway ramp with red light. lights behind me at various locations navigating the flow of traffic into my merge lane. There were also some lights ahead of me that may or may not have applied to some or all of the traffic streams, so if you're confused, you're not alone, so was I. From there, two things happened very quickly. One, I determined that this was not a very small down. Instead, I realized it was actually a well-traveled pit stop for truckers. And two, somehow I ended up in the middle of an intersection

following a green arrow to turn which may or may not have been meant for me. Somewhat frazzled, and not a little road-weary, I made that turn and heard a lengthy horn honk from my side indicating that I had clearly done something incorrectly. My wife charmingly, might I add, told me that I had cut someone off, and of course I felt bad. She was right. I didn't know the traffic pattern, and I panicked.

I clearly needed rest, and the message from that honk was received loud and clear. The cutoff was my fault. The guy who honked at me wasn't done delivering the message, though. I then saw in my rear view a large pickup truck swing in onto the road behind me and start up the hill after us. I've heard several let's-not-meet stories in my free time about others being followed, especially while driving. I had been hearing stories like that since my wife and I were first married and after years of exposure to them

I've been overly paranoid as a result I've met my fair share of strangers with suspicious gazes though only twice in my life however have I instantly known that I was being followed on the roadway and both times the feeling was sudden and unmistakable the restaurant was at the top of the hill

and there was a gas station below connecting to the main road that I had just come from. I pulled into the restaurant parking lot and coasted over to the rear to see if this truck would do the same. I turned into the restaurant entrance as well, but I don't think it immediately saw us in the crowded lot.

As my paranoia levels varied, I said, he's pulling in here after us. My wife replied, oh, that's awkward. Let's go somewhere else. else. So we slowly circled around behind the restaurant, which didn't seem suspicious, as there were parking spots on all sides. This also gave the guy a chance to park or whatever, while we

weren't in his line of sight. I then came around to the exit to leave and I froze. He was there at the entrance. It was as if he had been watching the lot and trying to figure out where we'd gone. Then suddenly he charged forward across the parking lot to face our car head on and angled his car into our lane of traffic to block us with his truck. As he did this, he rolled the window down and stretched his arm out. Once his window was more or less lined up with mine, this angry older tank top wearing driver with tattoos screamed, Stop your car! To recap, I had been driving for hours and hours. I pulled off of the highway to get a good meal, accidentally cut someone off at an unfamiliar intersection and got honked at. The driver was apparently so enraged by this that he

followed me to where I was going, lost me, found me again, blocked me in, and then demanded that I stopped driving. So now I had this demon truck in front of me, and I bellowed, no. I did the best maneuver I could manage, and I dodged out around him with probably an inch or so despair between my car and his, headed back down the hill to the main road. Of course, once I got down there, there was a red light and a bunch of cars waiting to turn, so it wasn't a viable getaway. So I then turned into a gas station at the bottom of the hill, and he followed us to the gas station. At this point, I'd add enough. And if I learned anything from Let's Not Meet 101, it's to keep your fluids topped off and keep rolling. And if they insisted on following, your car's only destinations

should be a police station. So I then shot back up the hill, to the restaurant, and dialed 911. I had a very pleasant conversation with the dispatcher, and I told her that I was being followed by a road ranger who was trying to get me to exit my vehicle. The operator talked with me for a good 30 seconds, but I hadn't seen the truck driver, so I thought that he had given up. I told her, that he might have stopped following. My plan in calling 911 was to get the address from the closest precinct, or directions there, and to report his plates. We left going in a different way, past the restaurant, and up the hill, where there was a connection back to the main road at another crossing. But we saw him a little ways up the road ahead of us after we had gotten away. We then doubled

back on ourselves just to be sure that we'd avoid him. We obviously didn't eat at that restaurant. We just drove the rest of the way and went directly to our hotel. The thing is, even though we were only 30 minutes away from the hotel, we were in an unfamiliar area and we had no idea if we were going his way or not. We had no idea what his intentions were. Was he hoping to block us into the parking spot and ambush us after we had gotten out of the car? Was our decision not to park, and his subsequent choice to block our lane of travel and confront us from his truck, plan B? Even if he was just an entitled local, he needs to realize that not everyone drives great 100% of the time. Regular people don't have the authority to stop motorists when they're unhappy and how they're driving.

Only law enforcement officers can do that, and if regular people intentionally do so without the authority, it's a crime that far outweighs my accidental traffic offenses. So to the entitled local, I'm sorry I bothered you, but let's not meet again. To start with some brief context, I'm now 26, and I met my stalker when I was 14. I decided to take ballroom dance classes, which was kind of normal for teenagers in my generation and my country. With ballroom dancing, you had to change partners with each song so every girl would dance with every boy.

My group consisted mostly of teens between the ages of 14 and 17, but there was also this really tall, 21-year-old guy named Philip. Philip and I had nice chats when we danced, but he seemed a bit odd. But because I was young and naive, I was honest with him about where I lived when he asked me. As such, the stalking began. After he knew where I lived, Philip would ride on his bike from his home, one town over, just to ask if I wanted to spend time outside with him. At first I didn't realize he was stalking me.

I just thought that he had a lot of time on his hands, but after he had done this quite a few times, I asked my parents to tell him that I wasn't home when he showed up. They agreed, but I think that both my parents and I were very oblivious about his intent for a very long time. At one point, the stalking ended for a few weeks, and Philip stopped coming to our ballroom dancing, classes. At that time, I had become part of a friend group of a boy that I fancied. For a few months,

he had a girlfriend, but they split soon after, and I became his girlfriend. Unfortunately, Philip was friends with my boyfriend's best friend, so he was also a part of the group. They told me that Philip was in a mental hospital. In the span of his stalking, Philip was in mental hospitals multiple times, and every time that he was, seemed to corroborate with my times of peace. When I was 16, my family and I had to move because our landlady had thrown us out since she wanted to live on the property herself. So we moved one town over. We were then living two streets away from my stalker. Every time Philip was out of the hospital, he would be at my house. on my dad's birthday

he rang again and because my family had guests they told him to open the door and there he was looming over me like a dark menacing shadow man I told him to leave and I tried to close the door

but he blocked it so I was standing there afraid begging him to leave at one point I even ran inside to get my dad to send him away but my dad said he's your friend it's your problem so i went back to the door and pleaded with philip to leave but he wouldn't he even knelt and sat in my doorway refusing to leave but then finally after almost two hours he left by then it was finally obvious that he was fixated on me so the next day i sat down with my parents and i told them that i was afraid of philip

my dad also apologized to me for putting me in that situation and not helping me out the next time philip came to my house my dad was there and he told him that i didn't want any contact with him so he left after a few more incidents like that he stopped showing up at my door so i thought that we had successfully gotten rid of my stalker but every time i started to live happily and tried to forget about my fear of Philip, a letter, an email, or a gift would show up from him, and it would send me back into my fears. When I was 20 and out of school, I was waiting to start my job. I worked at a grade school and a voluntary after-school care club for grade schoolers.

After a month or two, my mom woke me up one morning and told me to get dressed because she had called the cops. It turns out Philip had been at our door every morning asking for me, but my parents didn't tell me so that I wouldn't get scared again. My mom finally called the cops on this particular day since Philip was refusing to leave. When the cops showed up, they told Philip to leave three times and he ignored them. So he was arrested. He screamed. He was screaming my name, saying that he was, quote, burning for me. And he said that the cops were hurting him. My parents and I were standing in the kitchen listening to everything. The situation was so absurd. We filed a police report for stalking and trespassing, but the officers said that

they couldn't do anything because he hadn't hurt me physically. We tried to get a restraining order, but it wouldn't even go through. A week later, Philip had snuck into our garden, just like something you'd see in a movie, and he threw rocks at my window. I'm not sure what I was thinking, but I opened the window when I heard it. I didn't see anything at first,

but then it clicked, so I ran downstairs and told my dad that my stalker was in the garden. However, Philip ran away. A week after that I was in the kitchen cooking when Philip rang the doorbell again. Since we have no way of being able to tell who is at the door, I opened it. And there he was again, telling me that he missed me and saying that he had peeked through the blinds of the windows in the living room the past week to see if I was there.

My parents weren't home. If they had been, I would have ran. But I just swallowed my fear and stood. in the doorway listening to Philip talk until my boyfriend came. After my boyfriend arrived, he told Philip to leave, and he did. But he mentioned that he had a girlfriend before doing

so. After that, I didn't see Philip again, not for a long time. A friend told me that he was taken by some men in white coats because he had believed that his mom was possessed by the devil. Two years later, I got a letter from the

court. I was being called as a witness and was told to attend the case of assault against Philip. Apparently after coming out of the mental hospital, he had a big fight with his girlfriend and hit her. She was scared after this happened, so she played dead. Philip then called an ambulance, and the police finally had something against him. After the hearing, he was admitted to a hospital again. I finally got a restraining order and he was ordered to stay at least

30 meters away from our property I was so very glad the restraining order also implied that if he broke any of the requirements he would go to jail two years ago I moved out of my parents' house I'm sharing the story now

because I believe I'm seeing him again but it just can't be he doesn't know where I live and thankfully he also hasn't shown up at my parents' house but I think that I saw him or someone who looked similar to him recently when I left my house There's always that moment during the holidays when you're trying to find a gift that's personal

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I also really like that it doesn't stop being a gift once it's opened. I can keep adding new photos anytime from anywhere. Any of us can. and they show up instantly on the frame. It turns into this ongoing thing instead of something that just sits on a shelf and being able to add a message before it arrives made it feel genuinely personal.

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Terms and conditions apply. This happened to me when I was 14. It was 2020, and it was old. cold winter in Canada. At that time, confinement was obligatory. Every two days, we would have class at school, otherwise it was online. One day, after my online class, I had to practice my acting part for my theater class. Since everyone was at home, I didn't want to bother anyone with my loud voice, so I decided to go into the woods. I actually live within walking distance of the woods, so it was easy for me to just go out there.

I live pretty remotely, and I didn't have any neighbors out there, and no one walked around out there since it was private property. I had asked my sister if she wanted to accompany me, but when we got out there, she said that she had this weird feeling and she didn't want to come along anymore, so she ran back to the house. I grabbed my dog instead, who was a pug. He was three years old at the time. It's important to know that my dog doesn't really bark at all,

and he still doesn't to this day he's very social and cuddly anyway I walked to the edge of my property to enter the woods behind the trees and I got onto the wooded path with my dog I know that path like I know my back

pocket so I never got lost back there as I was walking with my dog I was recording a video of myself to see what I needed to improve upon with my acting and that was when I saw someone behind me. Of course I turned around and looked at the person. To this day I don't know if it was a man or a

woman, but that person was clothed head to toe with blankets and coats. They had a huge bag with them. To this day I still remember that glimpse of the person. I could only see their eyes and in their hand there was a sharp-looking object that I couldn't identify. So out of instinct, I started walking faster because no one ever comes to these woods, especially in the negative 34 degrees Celsius winter night. However, my dog wouldn't walk. He just stood still and didn't move an inch. He was fixated with fear on the person.

And he started barking, and that's when I really knew something was off. My dog generally likes everyone. He doesn't really bark at anyone, so at that moment I knew that this situation wasn't safe. So I whistled to him and he finally started walking. But his head was still facing back. And then the person started laughing.

As they were laughing, I heard them say, I'm not scared of dogs. In my head I asked myself, why did they need to tell me this? So I started walking even faster, urging my dog to follow along. I heard the snow crack as the person started walking faster, after us.

That was it for me. I picked up my dog and began running. I could hear the stranger running after me, and then I came to a dead end. At that point, three thoughts were going through my mind. One, I could go straight forward through the trees until I found a path. Two, I could jump off of the snow cliff

that was at least ten feet high, or three, I could go back to where I came from and run for my life. Hearing the stranger's footsteps approaching, I decided on option two since the snow was soft. I was swallowed by the soft snow from the jump, because here in Canada, there can be up to three feet of snow on the ground.

I thought I was going to die, but my dog helped me dig out. Then I picked him up again and ran towards the second cliff in front of me. I looked back and saw the stranger for the last time. They had their left hand on their forehead, looking left and right, scanning the horizon, trying to find me. They spotted me and started walking towards me so I ran as fast as I could,

following the path that I knew would lead me to the street in front of my house. I ran with my dog in my arms and the ice on my legs in the freezing cold. When I got back to my house, I decided to act like nothing happened. I just went to my room and stared into the void. I don't know who that person was or why they were out there, but I hope I never meet them ever again. I'm not sure if this gaming or play place called Jeepers is just an East Coast thing, but for those, who are unfamiliar with it, it's very much like Chuck E. Cheese. Thirteen years ago, my mother had planned to have my eighth birthday party there.

It had bumper cars, arcade games, prizes, pinatas, the works. This was the age of defying your parents and testing their limits for you. I was a brat, and I was very sassy. I hardly ever left my mother's side. That day, it just so happened that I was mad about the type of of pinata my mom had chosen to get for me. She got a big pig instead of Hello Kitty. How dare she? So instead of clinging to her, I went off on my own. I specifically remember playing a leprechaun-themed penball game. As I was focusing on the game, I became deeply annoyed at the shadow looming over me,

blocking my light from the pinball machine. When I looked up, there was a man who couldn't have been older than my mom's age. He was probably barely 30 years old, but his skin was so leathery and yellowed. His teeth smelled like tobacco before I even really knew what tobacco smelled like, and he had straight, sharp teeth. Happy birthday, he said. Thanks, I replied curtly without looking up from my game. His very presence was annoying me. "'Where are your parents?' he asked, looking around, flashing those bright white teeth I still remember so vividly even to this day.

"'My mom's over there,' I said, still refusing to look away from my game. "'I didn't even bother to gesture towards her. "'I knew that my mom was only about ten feet away. "'My birthday party was stationed at the front of the venue. "'Oh, yeah, I know her. I work with her,' he insisted. I was listening, but frankly, I just didn't care all that much. Okay, I said, just to say something. He insisted on continuing to talk to me, but I kept giving him nothing.

His voice started to get raspier and shakier. He stuttered, do you want to go look for her with me? I want to talk to your mom. I told her that I work with her, he stammered. I became frustrated, but then he said, grabbed my wrist very firmly. I had never been grabbed firmly before. She's right over there now, can you leave me alone? I yelled. I said this so loudly that other bystanders were looking. He grinned smugly at the scene that he was creating, even though I don't think he fully understood

it. He then walked off slowly and turned a corner toward another play area. When I caught up with my mother. I told her in passing that some guy claimed he worked with her and told her that he really wanted me to go with him to find her. I innocently said, but I knew where you were. That was stupid of him. I was convinced that the guy was just really dense and didn't recognize my mom was there. I also inferred that he was probably just a co-worker with a crush on her. I had an attractive mom. Honestly, she's still pretty hot. Never did I think that the guy was trying to lead me astray. My mom's lips got very tense, and after that, she held me very tightly. Years later, my mother revealed to me that she had warned the jeeper staff about him, using the characteristics

I had given her, and they later contacted her with information about an attempted kidnapping that very week. Who knew that having an attitude problem as a child, would get me out of being kidnapped. Our final story this week is very dark, very disturbing, and does contain some references to assault. Listener discretion is advised. At this age, I didn't have a cell phone. and my parents didn't let us use the internet

because my older brother was constantly looking up porn and leaving it open. As a result, we lost the whole PC. My parents also didn't allow us to use the house phone unless it was for emergencies or unless we were told to answer a call for them. So whenever I wanted to hang out with friends, I would have to look for them in person

because we lived in the same neighborhood. I went to a barbershop two blocks away from my parents. parents house in Brooklyn, New York, looking for my friend. When I arrived, he wasn't there, but another man let me know that he had stepped out and would be back soon. He invited me to sit and wait, so I accepted. After I walked in, he told me that the wait would be about eight minutes because my friend had gone to the store. The man then introduced himself as the owner of the shop and said that he was just moving some items from the basement to restock the shop for the day. I told him that I was trying to see if my friend wanted to hang out after his shift.

The owner said that he had just opened this business on his own and was excited about it. He talked about the improvements that he made in the backyard and expressed that he would rent out the yard and basement for parties to bring in more money. He insisted that I take a look at the yard and get a tour while I waited for my friend. I was hesitant at first, but I agreed because he was being friendly and I think. couldn't imagine anything going wrong. We looked at the yard, and then he showed me the rest of the back of the shop. Then we walked back to the front, and he opened the door and said that it was the basement.

He said it was ideal for parties as well as maybe even a studio, since he soundproofed it. Then he turned the light on, started walking down, and beckoned me to follow. He told me to come check it out. I said, maybe I'd look at it another time instead, since my friend was taking a long time to return, and suggested that maybe I just come back when my friend was back. The man then insisted that it would be quick. He said that the door to the shop was open,

so my friend would still be able to come inside anyway. I was still hesitant, but then I followed him down the stairs. He showed me the basement and showed me how he insulated the wall, and he showed me all of the other improvements that he made as well. Then he said that we could go back up and we turned to go back upstairs. I was ahead of him, but then halfway up the stairs I felt him grab my leg.

I instantly panicked and tried to free my leg from his grasp, but he dragged me back. I turned over on the stairs and he overcame me and grabbed my neck with one hand. He then pushed his face, on my body and began trying to kiss me. I began to swing and punch at him frantically, but he tightened his grip on me, told me to stop fighting, and then tried to kiss me again. I started flailing, and I kicked him as hard as I could in the groin. He let go, so I turned to run. There was a bucket of water near the top of the stairs, and as soon as I reached it, he grabbed my leg. I pulled back

the bucket which made the water spill all over the stairs and made me lose my grip, so I slipped face first onto the stairs. I threw back the empty bucket which hit him and made him yell. He again told me to stop fighting back. He was enraged at this point, screaming that I really hurt him. Then he dragged me back down the stairs to the bottom and kicked me in the head and the stomach repeatedly. Then he ran to the top of the stairs and turned off the light. I struggled trying to get my footing, but in the darkness, he grabbed me by my hair and pulled me back to the ground, then dragged me to the corner of the basement.

I couldn't see a thing. I began to yell as loud as I could. He then climbed on top of me, cursing that I had made a mess that he needed to clean up now, since I was being so difficult. He then laughed, saying that nobody would hear me because of the soundproofing, so I was better off shutting up.

I continued to cry, scream, and flail. He then laid his whole body weight on top of me, and I eventually grew tired as he overpowered me. I won't go into the details about the assaults, but afterwards he sat on me and tied my hands behind my back. I tried to wiggle and kick, but he met me with a few blows to the back of my head. Then he left and said that he would be back with food.

It was pitch black in the sun. silence was pressing after he left. I tried to listen out for someone, and I began to scream as loud as I could. My voice was so hoarse and sore from screaming that I just pushed myself back until I hit the wall, and then I sat on a ball and began to cry.

He returned, a long time later, and then hit me in the head and knocked me out. I woke up confused in a painful days and started screaming. Over the next two days, I remained there as he repeated this cycle. I had to use the bathroom on the ground nearby and lie on the cold concrete floor. I was repeatedly assaulted, just exhausted. I hadn't eaten or drunk anything since being there, and my body hurt from fighting him back. He whispered that he loved me, and I begged him to let me go.

I even promised that I would come back. I begged him to just let me go home, eat, and shower, and I told him that I would come right back. After a while, he agreed. He threatened that he would always be able to find me and said that he would kill me if I ever told anyone about what he did. I promised that I wouldn't say a thing over and over. He then left me for a bit, and when he returned shortly after, he turned the light by the stairs back on, grabbed me by the arm roughly, and led me back to the stairs. It felt so good to see the light, even though it burned my eyes after being locked the way. Once we were at the top of the stairs, he untied me, gave me my clothes back, and watched

as I got dressed. I tried to keep a neutral expression on my face. He then looked at me and said, Don't forget, I will find you. You can never escape me. I then promised again that I would come back. He then walked me to the shop door and watched as I carefully walked down the block. I tried to look normal as I readjusted to the daylight. It was cloudy and rainy. When I reached the corner, I looked back at him one more time, and as I turned the corner, I began to run like mad. I ducked into someone's backyard. I sat there for what I thought to be about 15 to 20 minutes, just hiding behind a bush. Then I ran off and ran right into my oldest brother and a patrol car a few blocks down. They had been looking for me. They repeatedly asked me where I had been. I couldn't say anything.

I just began to run from my brother because I didn't know what to do. But then I stopped and cried. I blinked through the tears, looking at my bruised wrists and my dirty clothes. There were bloodstains and dirt on my pants, and my hands were black. They took me back home to my worried mother, who also began to question me, but I fell silent, and I could only cry. I never told anyone where I was or what happened to me. I did randomly see the man around in passing,

and he would smile at me. Sometimes he'd remark that he would be sending for me soon, but I obviously never went back to him, and I didn't see him again until after I turned 15. I found out that my friend had never even went to work that day. The shop eventually closed down and another business opened up there in its place. Now, at 31, I finally feel like I'm able to tell my story. Unfortunately, my mother passed away in 2018, so I'll never get to tell her.

Stick around after the music if you're a patron for your extended version of this week's episode. If you want to get access, go to patreon.com forward slash let's not meet podcast. You'll get access to ad-free versions of all of our episodes at a higher bit rate, plus bonus content and in those extensions every week with stories you won't hear anywhere else. Again, that's patreon.com forward slash let's not meet podcast and send your stories into let's not meet stories if you want to hear them on the show. Be sure to check out the new episodes of my other podcasts like Odd Trails in the Old Time Radiocast at Cryptic County Podcasts.com or wherever you get your podcasts. This week you have heard Capitol Hill Casanova by a mess of a dreamer. Attempted kidnapping twice in life by Pretty Little Missile. Followed at a highway stop by Noam Frankenstein, ballroom dance classes led to getting stalked for eight years by Witchie Willow. In the woods behind my house by Saga. My Sassiness saved me from kidnapping by Pizza Slut.

And finally, New York City kidnapped and abused by a cordon bazenda trap. 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. We'll see you all next week for a brand new episode. Everybody, stay safe. When I was 18, I was hired to sell pretzels at the mall.