Let's Not Meet: A True Horror Podcast - 8x15: Tiny Tom - Let's Not Meet

Episode Date: May 16, 2022

Stories in this episode: - Who Was Talking To My Son/Stalked For 9 Months, by Mackenzie B (0:49) - Tiny Tom, by Anon (13:12) - Creepy Guy Waits Outside A Mental Health Clinic, by piranha_alana (26:27) - Li and Ginger, by Anon (34:14) - Michael, by Vince (43:35) Extended Patreon Content: - Our Roommate Sean, by Maura - Crazy Ex Coworker, by Enzo Don't forget to check out this week's episode of my other podcast Odd Trails for your true paranormal fix at OddTrails.com or wherever you find your podcasts. 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].  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! Go to GreenChef.com/meet130 and use code meet130 to get $130 off, plus free shipping! This podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp and my listeners get 10% off their first month at betterhelp.com/MEET. Upstart is the fast and easy way to pay off your debt with a personal loan–all online. Find out how Upstart can lower your monthly payments today when you go to upstart.com/meet. Protect your online activity TODAY with the VPN rated #1 by Business Insider. Visit my exclusive link ExpressVPN.com/meet and you can get an extra 3 months FREE on a one-year package. All time stamps are approximate and may not be 100% accurate after 90 days due to changes in ad placement.   - Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/433173970399259/  - Twitter - https://twitter.com/letsnotmeetcast  - Website - https://letsnotmeetpodcast.com  - Patreon - https://patreon.com/letsnotmeetpodcast  - Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/letsnotmeetcast/  - Twitch - https://twitch.tv/andrewtatelive  

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If you have a story to share, send it to Let's Not Meet Stories at gmail.com. Enjoy the show. My name is Andrew Tade in the Season 8 episode 15 of Let's Not Meet a True Horror Podcast. I have two stories to share. A couple of years ago, I got divorced and moved in with my mother on our family farm in rural South Georgia. The house that we moved into was a huge farmhouse surrounded by cotton fields. When I first moved with my boys, ages 2 and 4 at the time, they loved it.

It had so many rooms, it had so much more space to run and play than our shitty little apartment in Orlando. As time went on though, they started saying things, such as, there are monsters upstairs. The funny thing is, every morning I would shut the doors upstairs, and they unsettled me too. Every morning I would wake up, and they wouldled me too. Every morning I would wake up and they would be open again. And I would have to shut them again. I always chalked it up to being an old house, having drafts and such. Eventually the boys didn't like even being alone in certain rooms, or

in this house alone at all. During the time that I spent there, I did notice a sense of uneasiness and a feeling of someone watching you. Eventually, I met my now husband. We started off slow, with little small casual dates. He even included the boys, which was very surprising and different. We were inseparable. Even if it was just sitting around the house.

One night, we decided to sit outside and talk. The boys and my mom were inside asleep. My room was across the house, so we decided to call my phone and put it on speaker, leaving it with my boys. We muted his phone, and we and put it on speaker, leaving it with my boys. We muted his phone, and we also put it on speaker, keeping it on the table beside us. We were essentially using them as a baby monitor. We talked for hours until early in the morning. I remember he was telling me something, and we both froze.

He mid-sentence. We could hear a man speaking through the phone in my bedroom. He wasn't saying anything that we could make out, but the voice was terrifying. It was almost like listening to radio static in a language that we didn't understand. My son was sleepily mumbling back to the man. We both looked at each other for a moment. That was the most terrifying part, the realization that we were really hearing this. I've never felt this kind of terror before or since. Without saying a word, we both jumped up and ran into the house to find both of my boys still sound asleep. The room was silent and empty.

I don't know why but it bothers me after all these years who was talking to my son, whomever you are, I say, let's not meet. But now on to story two. This old farmhouse that my family owned, it needed a lot of work, it was eight bedrooms and a mother-in-law suite. When we moved in, we only had two rooms cleaned up and worked on the rest of the house over the course of nine months. There was a man across the street, we'll call them J. He was very helpful. From day one, he would come almost every day as he was feeding up his animals and help with anything that

we needed. Over the course of nine months, I never really had any issues and thought that he was just a friendly, middle-aged man. I never felt like he had any ill intentions either. The farmhouse was in a U-shape. The room that I chose had windows into the courtyard area. This courtyard was in the middle of the house. Jay had fenced in that area when I first moved in, so that I could let the boys play. The house was right in the middle of the farm, and set off the road, so I never had any worries about being watched, mostly as my bedroom windows are in this fenced-in area in the middle of the house.

So I didn't put any curtains on my bedroom or bathroom. One day my son was playing under the car port, and Jay pulled up with his truck. He was going to look at my car for me. Jay didn't make it to the car port before my eldest son says to me, Hey, I seen him in my window last night. Later that night I talked to my son and he told me that he did in fact see Jay outside his window. I asked him if it was the kitchen window because you can see his horse pasture from there and he stops to feed them every morning and night. Talking it up to that, I didn't think much else about it. But other things did happen, but I guess you could say I wanted him to be the person

that I thought he was. So I overlooked it. Now here are two events. One, my favorite candy somehow disappeared in the fridge one day after school. My mom told me that she remembered telling Jay that it was my favorite candy. The second event, someone sent me flowers every Friday for a couple of months straight. I thought it was my ex-husband, and possibly my boyfriend at the time, but neither man would admit it. My boyfriend jokingly told me that it was Jay. The next day I came home from school, and mom had the boys playing under the car port. Jay was working on my car.

My air suspension had a leak, and Jay offered to look at it before I took it all the way to Tallahassee, or the expensive repair. I got out of my mom's car, and she asked me if I wanted to see the leak that he had found. As I bent over the hood, Jay stepped back. When I turned around, I commented jokingly on his 90s-air cell phone. He had it in his hand. It's the type that you don't see anymore. It was very clearly a camera flip phone.

Later that night, we came inside and my mom told me that she could swear that Jay had taken a picture of me with his cell phone. Later that night, we came inside and my mom told me that she could swear that Jay had taken a picture of me with his cell phone. I know it sounds crazy, but I didn't believe her. This man was seriously always friendly. I never had any weird vibes from him. If I offered to pay him, it was always at cost, and that was rare because he wouldn't normally accept money. I should have known that people just aren't like that these days. I guess I was just very naive. Because a couple of weeks later I was mowing my courtyard. It was grown out pretty bad, and as I got close to my window, my heart literally sank. I had a newly placed center block outside both windows and my bathroom window as well. I can't tell you how, but I knew at that point

that I had made a huge mistake, and everybody was probably right about Jay. I called my friend and my neighbor Josh to come look at the center blocks. He ran home and got a deer cam attaching it to a tree outside my window. This was at 3pm in the afternoon. That night I came home around 6 and was unloading the boys. When I turned around and Jay was standing behind me. He said, Hey, I didn't mean to scare you. I heard your mama was at a town. I said, yes, sir. I knew he knew because they are friends on Facebook. He told me to call him if I got scared or if I needed anything. I got the boys inside and we snuggled into bed. They fell asleep on my bed

when I realized that I had missed Sunday's episode of Game of Thrones. It was a good one. So I went to my mom's bed to watch. I was laying there, talking to my ex-husband about the boys, and the show, when Josh called. I clicked over and he asked me if my boyfriend was there. I told him no. This is 902pm. He told me that there is a man outside my window. The deer cam snapped the first picture at 902. My boys are in my room sleeping. Josh told me not to worry. He was already coming up the driveway and to meet him outside. This was on the other side of the house. Fear and dread slowly drained through me. I carefully walked into my room and calmly scooped up the boys. I shut the door and sprinted through the house as fast as I could. We sat in Josh's truck until the police arrived.

The deer cam snapped photos at 902 and 922, as well as 930. He was standing outside my window that long, waiting for me to come back. The police walked back into the field, and could see where he had parked, but he was already gone. Behind the house is a massive produce field and it was a tractor road for tractor access. I showed them the photos and identified J. He was arrested at 2am that morning and when they went through his phone there were 9 months of pictures. Pictures of me mowing. Pictures of me playing with my kids.

Pictures of me in the bathroom, sleeping, and of course, bending over the hood of my car. He was watching me the entire time. I couldn't and didn't sleep for weeks. He ended up getting out of jail the following weekend and came into my mom's post office as she is a male lady. He came and told her that he found my dog. It had passed away and he buried it for me. And even after that, he only received five years probation and a restraining order. He still lives across the street. I stayed for maybe three months, then moved.

Amplify your career through training and development solutions specifically designed for federal government professionals. From courses to help you attain or retain certification to individualized coaching services, to programs at home, your leadership skills, and business acumen. Management concepts optimizes your professional development, online, in-person, individually, or groups. It's training that's measurably better. Learn more at managementconcepts.com. That's managementconcepts.com. At the time that this happened,

I was in my mid-20s and just started a new job. Just for a little backstory, I'm an RDA and always worked with adults. But I decided that I needed to change, so I applied to a pediatric dental office. For whatever reason, I thought that working with kids would be less stressful, but I was wrong. A problem wasn't the kids, or their parents. That was all fine. The problem was someone else, someone I worked with.

From the beginning, he kept his distance, which was fine. I'm shy, and I'm introverted, so I didn't mind it at all. But then, as the weeks progressed, I noticed something very off about him. We'll call him Tiny Tom, for privacy reasons. I started noticing that he would watch my every move, but wouldn't say anything, kind of like he was studying me. I thought it was kind of weird because he wasn't a back office supervisor or a manager of any sorts.

He had no authority over me, so again I was kind of confused as to why he paid so much attention to all of these things that I did and everything I said. And even if he were an employee of a higher position, that would still be weird. Anyways, another stuff sounds a little harmless, but things quickly progressed. One day I was assisting one of the doctors in that office. Everything went well, the patient left, and I was cleaning the room rather quickly, because there was another patient waiting. Tom came in to help me wipe down the room, while I went to go put together a tray of instruments for the next treatment. But that's when I noticed he had missed

some blood on a silver tray. So I quickly put some gloves on and grabbed a wipe to clean up the blood. As I did so, Tom happened to walk by and irritatedly raised his voice and said, why are you wiping that down? I already did it. We have patients out there waiting. Now, as he said this,

the doctor was present in the room, writing up his notes. I looked over at the doctor, like, help. I don't know why, but it's just a nervous thing I do when I feel awkward or put on the spot. I politely but firmly said in return, you miss some blood, I just wanted to wipe it up, before I put a clean tray over it. Tom walked away. And that was that. Or so I thought, after we finished that patient's treatment, I was again cleaning the room. Tom comes in and sits on the chair and watches me as I clean. He doesn't say or do anything,

just watches me. I could feel his eyes like burning arrows hitting my back. Naturally, I look at him. His eyes are cold and dark, there are no expressions on his face. I watch a lot of true crime on the ID channel, and I've always heard people say those kinds of things about sociopaths, but I never understood it until that day. At this point I'm feeling uneasy. What the hell is up with this guy?" I didn't say anything. I'm not confrontational. I avoided it. But then Tom said in this low and eerie voice, Why did you lie? I had no idea what he was talking about.

Again, I politely respond, what do you mean? He responds again in that low eerie voice. You lied. No one likes a liar. Do you know what happens to liars? They get caught. I did wipe everything down.

I politely responded again. No, why would I lie? There was blood. Blood is a biohazard. If there wasn't any blood, I wouldn't have to clean it. Tom then says, never undermine me in front of that doctor again. I was kind of expecting him to walk out of the room at this point, but instead he just stared at me with that same emotionless expression.

I just kind of stood there in disbelief, I don't know why he thought that I was trying to make him look bad in any way. I mean, he asked a question and I gave him an honest answer. So after this incident, I noticed him being cold towards me, but I honestly didn't really care as long as he kept his distance I was fine. He would talk lots of crap about me, and I would overhear him, but I still didn't really care. There were times where he would flip me off, holding his middle finger up in the air when I would be turned around a certain way, but

he would move in a way where my peripheral vision would still catch it. Now that pissed me off, but I decided at that moment it just wasn't worth it, so I ignored it. Then a few months into this job, he started to be nice. It was weird, he like flipped the switch. But those moments were just that. Moments. They'd only last for a day, or maybe half a day, then he'd go back to being the same old Tom, cold and distant, and then right back to being nice and talking to me.

But as soon as I left a room, he would turn around and talk crap. He'd come up to me and try to hug me. He would say stuff like, I need a hug. But in this weird baby talk tone, then he would try to force himself on me to hug me. I didn't know how to respond to this behavior, but it made me uncomfortable. So I would nervously laugh and tell him, just stop, and then I didn't want to hug him. Then he would start calling me these weird pet names and try to poke me in my stomach or rib area. Every time I'd tell him

to stop, I don't want to be touched. He would say, is blank having a bad day today and that weird baby talk tone? As if trying to excuse his disgusting actions, he was blaming me for refusing his advances and not wanting to be touched by him. Just writing this makes me want to vomit and disgust at this level of entitlement with females. And the fact that he couldn't take rejection so he forcefully had to try and get his way. Days go by and his behavior only escalated. He went as far as tackling me into the break room and turning off the lights, slamming the door behind him and pinning me on the wall, trying to put his hands up my scrubs to try and tickle me.

He succeeded so, and I started to laugh when all I wanted to do was punch him to get him off of me. But the way that he had me all pinned up against the wall I couldn't move my arms. I told him to stop, get off of me. His reply was, no, it's okay. I felt my stomach drop and fear ran through me. If someone says stop, it means stop. Now, this lasted only a few seconds, but it felt like a solid minute. He then ran off, leaving me in the dark room.

You're probably wondering why I never reported it to anyone, like my back-off as supervisor or my manager or even the business owner. Reason being was because I had gone to such business owner about being verbally and sexually harassed by another assistant, not Tom. That's a story for another time though. Anyway, said business owner, turned it around and said that it was my fault and basically accused me of having a relationship with this older man, well into his late 40s.

Then he chalked it up to me asking for it, as if it were some kind of lover's quarrel, disgusting. I'm leaving out the gender of the business owner again for privacy reasons. And the dental world is a very small one. Anyway, long story short, going back to Tiny Tom. The final straw was when again I was cleaning up a treatment room. The chair was in the lying down position, so I had to bend pretty low to wipe it down. Tom was in the room with me along with another RDA. Whom was writing notes on the computer. Her back was turned towards me so she didn't see what happened next. As I was bent down, cleaning the dental chair out of nowhere, I felt this quick, powerful swoosh of air and inch away from my face. I quickly realized the source of this swish.

It was Tom's foot. That was it. I quickly reacted and said, what the hell was that for? Don't ever do that again. You almost kicked me in the face. What the hell? Now, he's done that another time before, but never that close to my face. So this freaked me out. After that incident, I didn't feel safe at work, especially since he would carry a pocket knife with him. Did I mention that this was a pediatric office where kids would get their dental work done? Why you would need a pocket knife with him makes no sense to me. Side note, the business owner was aware of him carrying the pocket knife during work

hours. Just to kind of give you an idea of how much the business owner would let Tom get away with. Anyway, we didn't talk to each other for days, which was a relief, up until I heard him talking to another coworker about a kick to the throat of some sort, so powerful that I could kill a person. I don't know how true that was, but I didn't even put in my two weeks notice after that. I quickly, and when I say quickly, I mean within two days found another job, got hired, and left. The business owner, knowing at this point why I was leaving had the audacity to tell the

manager to tell me that I needed to give them a two weeks notice to find someone else, and if not, they would put me on a do not re-higher list. Then the manager proceeded to ask if there was any kind of verbal threat made. I looked at her with confusion, like a near kick to the face isn't a threat. I didn't say what I was thinking, all I said was, that's fine. As long as he's here, I don't feel safe anyway. One thing I did learn is to never, ever let anyone get away with it once. And always tell somebody right away when you're being sexually harassed. Don't stay quiet, and if they don't believe you, no job is worth your safety.

So Creepy, tiny Tom, and screwed up business owner, continue to defend your future lawsuits and I hope we never meet again. Don't let the summer heat bake in road grime any longer, hand to your nearby Zips Car Wash to clean up and cool off. And listen to this, now when you buy your next car wash online at zipscarwash.com, you pay even less. That's right, we save you money off our amazing washes. Plus, you also get to skip the line and use our Express Lane service. When you're ready to shine, skip the line

and save time and money with your online wash code. Find your nearest location at zipscarwash.com, then drive and shine today. When I was around 25, I decided to see a therapist for my anxiety. I didn't have insurance and wasn't exactly rolling in money. So I went to a community health clinic to meet with a therapist. As I was pulling into the parking lot from the main road, I noticed a large man in an SUV

staring at me. I didn't really think anything of it mainly because I was nervous about this appointment. I parked my car and started to walk into the building and was almost to the door when I heard someone calling me. Excuse me, Miss. I turned around and sure enough, it was the same man that had been staring me down earlier. I noticed he had a little girl in his car, and thinking maybe that he needed directions or was experiencing some sort of emergency I walked over to his car. But I stopped a few feet away, just far enough

to be out of snatching distance, but close enough to hear him. Yeah, I said. He responded with, I just wanted to tell you that you're so fucking juicy. I knew that I wanted to watch you walk when I saw you pull into the parking lot. Thank you for walking in front of my car today, you're so fucking hot. Now, when it comes to fight, flight, freeze, or fawn, I wish that my brain did something cool. I wish that my reaction was to say something really devastating, or at the very least run away. But I didn't.

I freeze sometimes if I feel like I'm not in physical danger, but if I fear for my safety, I fawn. I don't want to anger the person that I'm afraid of, so I tend to play safety, I fun. I don't want to anger the person that I'm afraid of, so I tend to play it off with humor. Oh, wow! Thanks so much! Then I added to his, what I assumed to be, daughter. Hey, sweetheart! How are you? She didn't say anything. She looked maybe eight or nine years old, and she looked like she was so uncomfortable with this situation, and she didn't want to watch her dad, or this man, her rass random ladies. I turned to leave and head to the appointment. He then continued to shout, quote unquote, compliments at me. Once I was inside, I texted my best friend about what just happened. She said that it was creepy, especially, when you consider that it was outside of a community mental health building, and it would be obvious that I was walking into therapy and probably

wouldn't be in the mood to be hit on. I went to my appointment, and my encounter with the man was at the back of my mind. I walked out feeling really good until I got to the parking lot and saw that same man in the large SUV he had been waiting for me for an hour and a half. I pretended not to see him and acted like I was texting someone on my phone as I walked to my car. I saw him slowly pull out of his parking space. I acted like I was going down one aisle until his car was solidly in it.

Then fast walked to my car at the next aisle over to try and buy myself some time to leave, when he maneuvered his large vehicle through the small parking lot to get to me. By the time I got my car unlocked and turned on, I saw him coming down my aisle quickly and I knew he was going to try and block me in. I gunned my car in reverse and stopped less than a foot away from his. I wanted to give myself as much space as I could to maneuver my car from the cramped parking spaces before he was directly behind me. Luckily it worked,

and I was able to carefully get my car out of the spot and leave. I again tried to lure him into thinking that I was going to leave from one exit and then switch at the last moment to leave through another. But I think he was expecting it, because he was on my tail the entire time. Now I don't live very far from the clinic, but I didn't want this guy knowing where I lived. I called my husband a very large, scary-looking man to ask him to stand outside and are straight with the baseball bat. My husband is a very sweet man who has never been in a fight, and I don't think he would actually know what to do if the guy had confronted him to fight. But my hope was that seeing a large imposing man with a baseball bat would give the guy an idea to leave. However, my husband didn't answer.

Luckily, my husband's friend was staying with us. When my husband didn't answer, I called his friend and told him what was happening. He said that he had walked to the sandwich shop near our house, and a drive there instead of our house, and he would take care of it. When I pulled up, the SUV was still tailing me. My husband's friend walked out of the shop and up to the car. He pointed and asked me if the SUV right behind me was the one following me. Once the guy driving the SUV realized I had called for reinforcement. He sped off. My husband's friend got in the car with me and I was still shaking as I told him the entire story.

I never saw that guy again, but the entire experience has made me very aware when I'm in a parking lot. So to the guy who cat called me wait in an hour and a half outside of the clinic for me to walk out and Followed me to the sandwich shop, let's no getting away from the fact that there's an outdoor kitchen shaped hole in your life, and it's time to put things right. Thankfully, bull outdoor products are ready, with everything you need to create a world-class outdoor cooking space. Bull outdoor kitchens and accessories add value to your property, an extra fun to your world. If you're gonna do it, do it right. Turn a bull loosen your

backyard. Bull BBQ dot com. I'm an avid listener of the podcast who has listened to every single episode. I've been thinking about submitting a story for a while. I'm not sure if it's scary enough, but it's one of the, if not worst, and most terrifying things that has happened to me in my 22 years of life. My brain has suppressed a lot of what happened, so I'm sorry if it seems a little scattered. And excuse my English, I'm not a native speaker. If you see some errors, feel free to correct them. For some context, I started university in 2018. It has always been very hard for me to make friends since I'm so shy, but weirdly enough, I immediately connected with a girl from my class. We're going to call her Lee.

Through Lee, I met another girl we'll call Ginger. Me, Lee, and Ginger. We all had a lot in common. We all liked anime, movies, Asian culture, etc. We all got along pretty well, and we hung out a lot. However I noticed that Lee and Ginger would make me feel left out sometimes. But I have always felt like that with most of my friends, so I really didn't think much of it. In my second year of university, I went to study abroad for that entire year. I was going to be roommates with Ginger and Lee was with another friend of hers.

The first few days, Ginger was having some health problems, so Lee and I took her to the hospital, and she was hospitalized for two weeks. So it was so Lee and I took her to the hospital and she was hospitalized for two weeks. So it was only Lee and I. Ginger's mother was saying that she was going to drop out of university and go back to our country since she was so sick. So Lee and I thought that she was going to leave and we thought about becoming roommates and Lee even brought some of her stuff over to my room. However, Ginger got better and didn't leave.

She eventually came back to campus. Immediately after she came back, I noticed a huge change in her and Lee's behavior. They started becoming weirdly close and ignoring me a lot. They would text each other every time that they weren't together. They would secretly plan to go out without me, and they would even lie to me about where they were going or what they were doing. There were times where I would be waiting hours, up to five or more, for them to get out of class. We weren't in the same classes, by the way. I was waiting

so that we could go eat or hang out together, but they wouldn't show up. They wouldn't even tell me that they were going to be late or anything. There was even a time where they went to a shopping mall without me that they knew that I really wanted to go to. And when Ginger came back, she even hid the stuff that she bought from me and lied about where they went. And I had just been sitting there the entire afternoon waiting hours upon hours for her to come back. I started getting a bit paranoid and feeling like they were plotting something against me. Since my mental health has always been somewhat fragile, there would be days where I would just snap.

Sure, I probably overreacted sometimes, but they were literally driving me crazy. I would try to talk to them about how I was feeling since we were supposed to be friends, and that's what friends do. And I would start to cry because of the stress, but they would call me crazy. They said I was insane, and I was making everything about myself.

I was a crybaby. This would only make things worse. I remember there would be days where I would just be laying in bed, and I would cry the entire day until my eyes were swollen. I couldn't see anything. There was a day where we kind of made up, and I was alone with Li, and I was telling her about a girl that said that she wanted to put bleach in her room made coffee machines water. But of course, it wasn't for real. It was just one of those things

that you say and don't really mean. A few days later, something happened, and we fought again, and suddenly Ginger started sleeping in Lee's room. And I didn't understand why. I was feeling desperate and on edge, I was borderline Suicide, I called my mom, and I told her what was happening. She told me that she was going to talk to Ginger's mother. After they talked, my mom told me that ginger had told her mom, that Lee told ginger that I said to Lee, that I was going to kill ginger by putting bleach in her water. I was literally feeling so insane. Like, I couldn't believe that Lee was distorting what I had told her to ginger. I had to talk to Ginger's mom explaining the entire situation and what

really happened. Lee was telling lies about me. I talked with Ginger, and Ginger told me that she was scared to even be around me. So I confronted Lee, and she said that she thought that I was being serious about the bleach thing since I had been acting so quote unquote insane lately. And I told her that they were the ones especially her making me feel like this. And she told me that if I kept talking with her about how I was feeling, she would become violent. And I 100% thought and still think that she would have hurt me if I had talked to her about this topic one more time. So on that day, I became very careful about what I said and how I acted towards Lee. So my mom decided that that was it. She talked with Lee and Ginger, and Lee literally

controlled everything that Ginger said, like she was just a puppet in her hands. She even told my mom that, because I had just gotten drunk one night, that that meant I was insane and would be capable of killing Ginger. I was so dumbfounded about this whole situation, I was determined to talk to them and try and make it work, but only with Ginger. Since I thought and still think she was being manipulated by Lee, and also because we were on a completely different continent, and without them I would be on my own. I know that's a bad decision. I should have just cut them off then. But we talked, and I told Ginger that I didn't want to be friends with Lee anymore, and thought that she was a bad person, but

I still wanted to make things work with her since we were roommates. So we kind of made up, however, Ginger and Lee were still friends. Lee was always there anyways, so I was always looking over my shoulder every time that I was with Lee, and I always got terrible vibes coming from her. There was even a night where I fell asleep early and I woke up in the middle of the night, and Lee was in our room. She and Ginger were just creepily whispering to each other, looking at me. I was scared they were going to hurt me. Until I reached my breaking point one day, we went to visit a city nearby our campus city. Every time I would try and talk to Ginger, Lee would

always answer me for her, so I would just shut up. They would even start walking faster, so I got left behind. I was trying so hard not to break down in the middle of the street. I just endured the time that we were there until we left. I literally ran to the subway station, and when we got back to the dorm, I broke down. And now I decided that that was it. I couldn't handle it anymore. So I told them I was done with them

and asked the dorm manager to change me to another room. The rest of the time there was terrible. I was feeling depressed and isolated. I started feeling suicidal again. And I just wanted to drop out of university and go back home. However, COVID hit. And we all had to go back home and ginger eventually dropped out, and I never saw or heard from her again.

Lee didn't drop out, but she was always at university alone after that. I eventually made friends with another girl from my class, so I wasn't so lonely. And the tables turned. COVID was somewhat a blessing in disguise. I'm not going to lie. To this day, my theory is I think Lee became very obsessed with Ginger for some reason. She wanted to be in control of her and kind of become her since she would copy everything that she did Even the way that she dressed the way that she talked and the things that she liked, etc She wanted to be in complete control of her So she had to get rid of me and isolate ginger and I was ruining her plans

I'm kind of over them now. I still have nightmares about them from time to time, especially Lee. But I'm now finishing my last year of university and probably won't ever see them again. But just in case, Lee and Ginger, let's not meet. Amplify your career through training and development solutions specifically designed for federal government professionals, from courses to help you attain or retain certification to individualize coaching services, to programs home, your leadership skills and business acumen. Management concepts optimizes your professional development online in person, individually or groups. It's training that's measurably better. Learn more at managementconcepts.com. That's managementconcepts.com. For some background, I'm 51, and I used to live in a smaller town on the west coast. I don't want to share exactly where, but, with it being such a small town, you'd be

surprised at the large population of the gay community. I'm a bit flamboyant, and I've never really hid the fact that I was gay because we lived in such a progressive little mountain town, and everyone was very accepting. This took place when I was 20. I was young and stupid like any other 20-something, but I didn't drink, I didn't smoke or party. I was just naive. I was a bit too trusting. I've learned a lot from this event, though. I worked as a waiter at a local brewery and restaurant. We would get all kinds of folks coming in from surrounding cities, as our town was close to a number of hiking trails.

It was a popular spot on the weekends, and during the summer, in particular. I loved chatting with all of the out of towners and getting to know them. It was cool to see them return and catch up as I waited on their tables. I would occasionally run into some of these people on the trails whenever I would get a weekend off. We would usually greet each other with a friendly nod and hello, never really stopping to chatter anything like that. One weekend while I was working an evening shift, I waited on a table of three men. They were all quite a bit older than me, probably in their forties. I only remember Michael's name because, as soon as I greeted them with my name, and asked if they wanted something to drink. Michael, a very large and sturdy man

with a buzz cut, made sure to tell me his name. He replied, Hi, Vince, I'm Michael. With this odd, but sort of charming sense of excitement. I just smiled and told him that it was nice to meet him. He had to be at least six and a half feet tall, maybe 300 pounds, clean shave, and sporting a silver wedding band. I like to take notes of these kinds of things. I've always sort of analyzed or studied people. His friends weren't all that different from him. They were all very large men, and a bit boisterous for how chill the brewery was that day. But they were polite, and I really didn't get any weird vibes from them. At one point, Michael asked me if I liked hiking the nearby trails and which ones

I recommended. I told them about the one that I always hike because it's a short walk to the trail head from my house. Michael told me that they were from a town about two hours away, but they fell in love with our town and the beautiful nature, so they planned to visit often. This was great news for me, because when they got up to leave after their food and about four beers apiece, they left a tip about the size of the bill. I made up my mind that I would be sure to wait on them again at any chance I could get. After they left and their table had already been cleaned and filled with new guests, I went to greet them. The table was situated

right next to the front windows, so I was able to catch a glimpse of Michael and his buddies outside smoking and laughing, with that same boisterous tone. They were so loud that I could hear them from inside. Michael made eye contact with me, smiled, and waved. I returned the gesture, but something about it made me feel a bit creeped out. He did that thing where you smile with your mouth but not with your eyes. I brushed it off and didn't really think much of it continuing with my shift. About two weeks had gone by since this encounter with Michael, and his jolly pals. It was a Saturday morning and my shift didn't start until two, so I made it a point to get some fresh air and some exercise since the

weather was just right. I leashed up my dog Lola and we started to trek to our usual hiking trail. It was a bit crowded that day, but I didn't plan on going too far in just enough to get my blood pumping. When the hikers began to thin out a bit, I picked up my pace and started to jog. Lolo was smiling and chugging along right by my side as we passed the few remaining people within our vicinity. The trail was beautiful, it snaked around the side of a huge mountain, covered with giant trees on one side, and a steep drop-off to a river on the other. As I made my way around one of these sharp curves,

I heard somebody shout, Vince! I turned around and looked at two people that I had just passed that were walking in the opposite direction. It was Michael, and one of his friends from a couple of weeks prior. I didn't even recognize them as I was so focused on making sure that my dog was keeping pace with me. She has a tendency to speed up and drag me along the trail sometimes. I stopped and chatted with them for no more than a minute or two. We just exchanged pleasantries and they thanked me for telling them about this trail. Nothing too weird. I was actually kind of nice to see them again. They told me that they would be by the restaurant later that evening

and looked forward to chatting it up, asking if I was working. I said yes, and told them goodbye. But the strangest thing happened. Michael reached out to hug me. Now, I'm five foot four, maybe 130 pounds, and this was a thick, burly giant of a man. So when he scooped me in for this incredibly inappropriate hug, I felt like a small doll being snatched up by a giant child. I kind of just froze and let it happen for fear of making things even more weird.

I gave this man zero reason to be hugging me. I mean, I waited on his table. That was it. Sure, they left a huge tip, and maybe that sense of being in debt played a role in me allowing him to grab me like he did, but it was just so uncomfortable. When he let go of me, I began to back up, smiling, nervously saying goodbye to drive home the fact that I had to be going. I wasn't about to let this guy touch me again. They both just smiled that weird lifeless smile again. And said by, as I turned back around and started jogging a little faster than before. I went up it farther into the trail than I had originally planned, just to make sure that I wouldn't run into those guys again on my way out, and it worked. I didn't see them again on the trail nor

at the restaurant that night. I guess they had decided to head back home early. Now while I was a little bit bummed that I wouldn't be making another $100 tip, I was happy that I wouldn't be seeing Michael in his buddies again. It was just so awkward and weird. It just didn't sit right with me. I got off of work at around 11 that night and drove home exhausted and ready to see my dog Lola and head to bed. My house had belonged to my family for a few generations. My folks gave it to me when they decided to move into a smaller housing community as they

wanted to be closer to some of my mom's side of the family. They just didn't want to live out in the boonies anymore, all alone. And this place was very much secluded from any other side of life. But I loved the privacy, even though it was a bit unnerving, coming home from work sometimes when the driveway lights didn't come on. See, there's this long gravel driveway from the main road to my house. I had motion sensor lights rigged up all along, so it would be easier to get to the house. I mean, it's pitch black out there without them.

That night was one of the nights they decided not to work. After slowly creeping up the long gravel driveway, parking, and getting out of my car, I was hit by an odd smell. Cigarette smoke. Now, I don't smoke, and last I checked, neither does LULA. My 55-pound pit bull who, at the time, wasn't barking up a storm like she normally would when she heard me coming up the drive. I left my truck headlights on and ran to the front door, feeling anxious and worried about

my baby. When I burst into the front door, I was fully expecting the worst. There was no reason for her to remain silent especially as I'm coming through the front door. My fear and worry only increased as I wasn't greeted by Lola jumping all over me as I walked through the house. I didn't hear a single bark. I searched the living room, kitchen, bathroom, office, and finally found her in my bedroom. Don't worry, this isn't a tragic horror story about my dog Lola. She was alive, and she

didn't appear to be hurt. But she was crawled up in the corner of my bedroom completely silent. It was painfully obvious that she was terrified of something. That coupled with the smell of cigarette smoke was enough reason for me to grab my 12 gauge rifle from the closet along with my headlamp. I wanted to do a perimeter check. I loaded the gun and set out to find whoever had been on my property. I was both angry and shaking with terror the mix mix of emotions, they really fucked with my head, as the light from my headlamp, shone on the thick forest that surrounded my house. Even though I was armed, I was so genuinely scared of catching a glimpse

of someone peeking out from behind a tree, or hiding in a bush, just the visual of that was so scary. I felt like my mind was playing tricks on me, as I whipped around in every direction frantically waiting for someone to pop out. My first thought was obviously of that fucking creep Michael and his goons from earlier. It made sense, the cigarette smoke, the eerie vibe and awkward bear hug at the trail that day. They knew my house was near the trail because I had stupidly told them that during our first encounter at the restaurant.

They probably followed me after my hike. There wasn't really any other explanation. All these thoughts, they just quickly ran through my head as I was living a scene right out of a horror movie. I had never felt truly scared in these woods. My entire life, I mean I grew up here, this was my home. This was my home, and this was my dog. I was prepared to defend both of them at all costs. After searching, I found no evidence of trespassing other than the cigarette smell in my dog's current state.

I turned off my truck lights and headed back inside the comfort lola. I locked every window and the front and back doors immediately. I didn't really have any physical proof or reason to bother the police at that time of night. I'd feel really embarrassed if they drove out here for no reason. I guess I was talking myself out of being scared, trying to convince myself that the smell was in my head. Lolo was probably just not feeling well. Maybe she ate something that she wasn't supposed to while I was gone. But then I thought about that smoke smell again. I really did smell it and I would only smell cigarette smoke out there in the woods if it

were fresh. The smell just wouldn't linger outside. That meant that if I really did smell it, the trespassers had to be nearby when I got home. While I didn't see any of their vehicles, there are plenty of places to drive around out here and hide. Maybe they saw my truck lights coming up the driveway and ran and hid in their cars or drove off. What if they're still out there?

I felt like I was going crazy. It was making me sick to my stomach. I was covered in a cold sweat, pacing back and forth from window to window, trying to catch a glimpse of anyone or anything. When I was startled by a loud, repetitive, banging at the front door, whoever was out there was now trying to fucking kick down my door. Then, another loud bang from the back door now. There were at least two of them now trying to get into my home. I was then blinded by a bright light as I was looking at the kitchen window.

Headlights. Someone a third person had flipped on the headlights of a lifted truck from outside on the property. They started revving the engine loudly. How did I miss it? Three of them. Just like the first night at the restaurant. I dropped to the floor, and the banging continued, now accompanied by the recognizable voice of that motherfucker, Michael.

Let us in vents, he yelled as the banging intensified. Lolo was now barking at the top of her lungs going wild. It was pure chaos. I was now on the kitchen floor trying to crawl to the living room phone without them seeing me, when I heard one of the living room windows breaking. These men meant business, and all I could think about was my dog's safety. The cops would never get here in time even if I did call them. So, I decided to fire off a warning shot. I pulled the trigger and let the bird shot fly into my ceiling. The deafening blast was followed by complete

silence. Then just the ringing in my ear and the whimpering of my dog at my side. I heard footsteps as they were clearly scurrying back to their vehicle. I let off another shot at the ceiling, not giving two shits about the integrity of my roof. I heard them turn and drive off down the gravel road towards the main road, peeling out as they took off towards town. All this commotion muckily set off the sensor lights, so I was able to see outside as it was completely lit up. I waited for a moment or two before calling and notifying the police. I sat back down on the floor of my living room with Lola until they arrived.

I was so thankful that she was okay. She was literally all I was worried about. They must have really scared the shit out of her for her to be huddled in the corner like that when I came home instead of barking up a storm When the police arrived I told them about Michael and his friends and the whole story of that night It checked out the perimeter and told me that they would have patrol be on the lookout for a suspicious truck with red paint scratches on the side I asked how they knew that it would have red paint scratches scratches on the side. I asked how they knew that it would have red paint scratches. He then showed me where they had very clearly side-swiped my red Ford Ranger when they took off.

I thanked him for his help, and he told me that I did the right thing with the warning shots, and to keep that gun handy in case they ever came back, because I would be completely in the clear if I had to use it on them. The police officer then said that they probably weren't looking to rob me as they would have done that while I was at work, especially because they knew I was at work. They were hiding and waiting for me. He then asked if I had given them a reason to want to hurt me. Having only been polite and courteous to them, the only reason I could think of would be that I was a single gay man that lived alone in the woods.

I didn't want to even consider what they really wanted with me, but I couldn't help but come to the conclusion that it had to have been some kind of potential sex crime or assault that they had planned. That weird hug on the trail, the creepy lifeless smiles that huge tip that they left, trying to lure me into some six sense of safety with them. I should have trusted my gut. They never picked up the truck or Michael and his friends and I never saw them again. Lola and I went on to live five more peaceful years together before she passed of old age. I never went hiking on that trail again, and I kept it gunned by my bed and ready to use

if I needed to. I learned a lot from that experience. I'm almost happy that it happened because I'm smarter and stronger because of it. I wasn't scared at all after the events of that night, and I was ready if it ever happened again. I've since moved far from that town and haven't looked back. While it was a nice little place in the community was very welcoming and accepting of folks of my lifestyle.

We weren't far from those backwards and tolerant towns filled with dangerous men like Michael and his pals. I don't know if it was a hate crime or worse, but it's just a memory now, and I know I'll probably never meet Michael again. Thanks for listening to this week's episode of Let's Not Me To True Horror Podcast. Don't forget if you're a patron to stick around for the ad-free extended version of this week's episode. And if you want to get access, just go over to patreon.com forward slash let's not meet podcast to support the show today. And don't forget if you're looking for your weekly dose of the true paranormal or supernatural. Don't forget to check out the new episode of my other podcast odd trails at oddtrails.com

or wherever you get your podcasts. This week you have heard who was talking to my son and stalked for nine months by McKenzie B. Tiny Tom by a listener that asked to remain anonymous. Briefy Guy outside the mental health clinic by Irana Alana. Lee and Ginger by a listener that asked to remain anonymous. And finally, Michael by Vince. All of the stories you've heard to speak 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. As always, if you have a story to share, send it to Let's Not Meet Stories at gmail.com, that is the only way to get your story on the podcast. If you're posting your stories on the internet or in reddit or anywhere, it's not going to end up on the show unless you write to me directly. So don't forget to email me, let's not meet stories at gmail.com, and don't forget to sign up for the Patreon if you want all that extended content.

I'll see you all next week for a brand new episode of Let's Not Meet, The True Horror podcast. Stay safe. Back in 2013, I moved in with my fiance, John. Don't let the summer heat bake in, road-grime any longer, hand to your nearby Zips Car Wash to clean up and cool off. And listen to this, now when you buy your next car wash online at zipscarwash.com, you pay even less. That's right, we save you money off our amazing washes plus you also get to skip the

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