The content consists of three personal accounts of unsettling and potentially dangerous encounters that occurred on or around Halloween, highlighting the vulnerability and fear that can arise during a holiday often associated with fun and lighthearted scares.
Mind Map
Click to expand
Click to explore the full interactive mind map • Zoom, pan, and navigate
This happened 2 years ago in Halloween
of 2023. I'm a 25-year-old male, but at
the time of this story, I was 22. I had
a long day of work due to a festival we
had where we had parents bring their
kids to the center for various
activities such as many different
competitive games, a costume contest,
trivia for candy, and a kids verse
parents dodgeball game. Overall, it was
a very fun time, but it was definitely
tiring. For context, I'm a community
worker, so doing community events is
pretty much what I do on a normal basis,
but it's also draining, if that makes
sense. Anyway, after it was all done, I
went home and was ready to call it a
night. About an hour after I got home,
it was around 6 something, my little
sister called me. My sister, who I'll
call Savannah, wanted me to take her and
my nephew, who I'll call Jackson,
trick-or-treating because neither our
parents nor Jackson's parents felt like
doing it. And as it usually goes, it
fell on me to be the cool big brother to
step in and make it happen. Savannah was
15 and Jackson was 11. Even though I
wasn't feeling it at all, I got up,
threw some clothes on, and headed to my
parents house to pick them up. Once I
got there, I asked if they were ready,
but Savannah was still finalizing her
costume. She was dressed up as Raven
from Teen Titans. She even had the white
makeup on to give that ghostly
appearance Raven usually has. Jackson
was dressed as Subzero from Mortal
Kombat. Once Savannah was done, we got
in the car and were on our way. I took
them to a pretty busy neighborhood to
make sure they got as much candy as
possible. Upon arrival, we started going
from house to house. Everyone we ran
into was friendly and had plenty of
treats to hand out. There was even one
house where an older man gave them each
a hot dog and a soda. He said every year
for Halloween, he doesn't hand out
candy. He grills food instead because
he'd rather give kids something with
protein since it's good for the body.
Honestly, we probably need more people
like that. We passed a lot of other kids
and some gave compliments to Savannah
and Jackson's costumes. I also saw some
really cool costumes myself. Everyone in
the area seemed to go all out. When we
hit the last house for the night, we
started walking back to the car. It was
about a 10-minute walk since we had gone
pretty far down the neighborhood. The
neighborhood was less active now, and
there weren't as many people out and
about. That's why I got alarmed when I
looked across the street and saw a
person dressed in all black standing in
a yard where there were no porch lights
on. I'm surprised I even noticed them at
all, but I tend to always pay attention
to my surroundings. When I looked
closer, it seemed like the person was
wearing a hooded cloak with an all black
outfit and a mask because I couldn't see
their face at all. I honestly couldn't
tell if it was a man or a woman. Whoever
it was, they appeared to be looking at
us. I told Savannah and Jackson to stay
close to me and said, "There's a
suspicious person across the yard. Look,
but don't stare." I said that so they
could see who I was talking about
without encouraging the person to
approach or follow us. Jackson laughed
and thought it was just someone trying
to scare people walking by. Savannah,
though, looked noticeably worried. Now,
just to add some context, I was carrying
a backpack with a Glock inside, and
Savannah knew this. So, when I told them
to stay close, she probably realized I
was being serious. Jackson was clueless.
He's too young for me to tell him that I
carry a real gun. As we were walking
away, it looked like that person was
still watching us, even though it was
hard to tell in the dark. We were
getting closer to the car when I
suddenly heard heavy footsteps behind
us, like boots hitting the concrete. I
turned around and saw that same person
again. Same outfit, all black, but this
time I could see more clearly. They were
wearing a tactical vest, tactical boots,
and black pants tucked into the boots.
They had on a full spandex mask that
completely covered their face. That made
the situation way more serious. When you
see someone dressed like that, the first
thing that comes to mind is that they're
armed. He's following us, I thought. I
whispered to Savannah and Jackson. I
need you both to listen very carefully.
Do not stop walking and do not look
back. The person I mentioned earlier is
following us. They're behind us right
now. The last thing we want is to alarm
them or set them off. So, just keep your
composure and keep walking. I mainly
looked at Jackson when saying this
because he's younger and might not fully
understand how serious this was.
Savannah understood completely. We kept
walking and did occasional glances
behind us. The person stayed the same
distance away, but was still following.
When we got to the car, they were still
coming our way. That's when I decided to
make a bold move. I pulled out my Glock
and pointed it at the person. I asked
why the they're following us. The person
raised their hands as if they didn't
expect me to do that, then slowly
removed their mask. It was a woman, and
she looked to be in her 30s. She took
her mask off, but didn't answer my
question. She just stared at me blankly.
I asked again, still pointing the gun.
Why are you following us? What she said
next made no sense. In an almost robotic
tone, she said, "I'm an undercover cop.
I was told there was a break-in, so I
came to check it out. That's why I was
standing outside that house, but when
you looked at me funny, I assumed you
were the one who did it. So, it would be
wise to lower that weapon or I could
have you arrested for threatening an
officer of the law." I hesitated, but
then lowered my gun. What else was I
supposed to do? I didn't want to risk an
arrest or ruin the kid's night, but her
story didn't make any sense. She claimed
she got word of a break-in, so why would
she just stand outside facing away from
the house? How did me looking at her
funny make her think I was the one who
did it? Why would I break into a house
and then casually walk through the
neighborhood? And why was she wearing a
hooded cloak?
All these questions were racing through
my mind. So, I asked her, "If you're
undercover, why are you in tactical
gear? Wouldn't that kind of give away
that you're law enforcement? And what's
the point of the cloak? She didn't
answer. She just stared at me again, but
this time her expression changed. There
was something malicious in her eyes,
like she was irritated that I didn't
believe her and was deciding what to do
next. Jackson and Savannah stayed
completely quiet through all of this.
Then she smiled this creepy, unsettling
smile and said, "If you didn't have that
gun, this night would have ended a hell
of a lot different for you." Right as
she finished saying that, I noticed four
figures suddenly emerge from between the
houses walking toward us. All of them
were wearing tactical gear, but without
the cloak. I instantly told Savannah and
Jackson to get in the car, keeping my
eyes on the woman and the figures. Once
I saw they were in, I got into and drove
off. As I was leaving, the woman was
still standing there smiling. The
others, three men and one woman, were
not smiling. They had blank emotionless
faces like they didn't even have souls.
It's hard to explain. The whole car ride
back was silent. I'm sure the kids were
in shock just like I was. I dropped them
off, made sure they got in safely, then
went home to process everything that
happened. The thing I couldn't shake off
was why they targeted us. The
neighborhood was full of people walking
around. So why us? I wish I could say it
ended there, but it didn't. A few days
later, I got a text from an unknown
number. It was just a photo, no words.
The picture was of my car taken in the
parking lot of my apartment complex. I
contacted the police and told them
everything that happened on Halloween
night. They took the report, but they
couldn't investigate unless a direct
threat was made. Typical. Out of
curiosity and maybe stupidity, I went
back to that same house where I first
saw that woman. I knocked on the door
and a man in his 40s answered. I asked
if they'd experienced a break-in on
Halloween night. He looked confused and
said no. He said he went to bed early
because he had work the next morning and
didn't notice anything strange. I told
him what I saw and he had no idea what I
was talking about. I thanked him for his
time and left. At that point, I already
knew the undercover cop story was fake,
but I wanted to do my own little
investigation just to make sense of it.
Whoever that woman and those people were
somehow knew my phone number and where I
lived. It makes me wonder, was that not
a random encounter after all? Were they
watching me for a while? Were they
planning something that night? And my
being armed threw them off. All those
thoughts messed me up and made me feel
paranoid for a long time. I had to go to
therapy and install a Ring camera at my
front door just to feel safe again. In
case you're wondering, I haven't been
contacted by any unknown numbers since.
Nothing else has happened since that
picture. Two years later, I still think
back on that night. Writing this out
helps me a lot, and I'm trying to fully
move on from it. But if there's one
thing I want people to take away from
this, it's to always watch your
surroundings. You never know who might
be watching you. It's easy to get caught
up in something dangerous just for
existing. So, always stay safe and
protected because I can say with full
confidence that being armed that night
This happened when I was 12 years old.
It was Halloween day and my family was
staying at a small family resort about
an hour away from where we lived. My
parents wanted to do something different
that year instead of just walking around
our neighborhood for trick-or-treating.
The resort was holding a Halloween
celebration that weekend with a bunch of
activities, games, and even a haunted
hayride. It wasn't a big place. It had
maybe 10 cabins, a main lodge, a small
lake, and a long open field where they
set up hay rides and games. It was
surrounded by woods on all sides. During
the day, it looked normal, even kind of
peaceful. But once it got dark, the
woods looked black and creepy, and the
resort felt a little too quiet. We
checked in early that afternoon. I
remember walking into the cabin and
feeling excited because I could smell
campfire smoke and candy apples in the
air. Kids were running around in
costumes even though it wasn't dark yet.
My parents said the hayride was starting
around 7 and there'd be games before
that. So, I went off to play while they
unpacked. They had booths where you
could toss rings over bottles for candy,
a costume contest, and even a pumpkin
carving area. Everything was decorated
with orange lights and fake spiderw
webs. I met another kid around my age
there. His name was Ryan. He was wearing
a skeleton costume and said he and his
parents were staying in the next cabin
over from ours. We played a few games
together and got a good amount of candy.
As it got closer to 7, we saw a crowd of
families walking over to the hayride
area. The tractor pulling the wagon was
parked near a big barn and they had hay
bales lined up inside for people to sit
on. There were maybe 20 of us who got
on. The driver wore a scarecrow mask and
there were workers dressed like zombies
who would jump out during the ride to
scare people. The ride started out fun.
It was dark by then and they had torches
lighting the dirt trail. The tractor
moved slowly through the woods and every
now and then someone in a costume would
appear from behind a tree or run up to
the wagon. Most people laughed or
screamed and then laughed again. It felt
like a normal Halloween attraction, but
about halfway through, something made me
uncomfortable. We were passing through a
part of the trail that was darker than
the rest. The tractor slowed down and I
looked toward the edge of the woods on
my side. That's when I saw a man
standing just outside the torch light.
He wasn't part of the hayride cast. I
could tell that right away he wasn't
wearing a costume that fit the theme.
From what I remember, he had a black
jacket, jeans, and a baseball cap pulled
low over his face. He was just standing
there not moving with his hands in his
pockets. At first, I thought maybe he
was one of the workers taking a break,
but he wasn't doing anything. He was
only watching. At one point, I made eye
contact with him, or at least I think I
did. Even though his face was shadowed,
I could feel his eyes locked on me. I
turned to look at the people around me
to see if anyone else noticed, but no
one seemed to. When I looked back, he
was still there in the exact same
position. I tried to ignore it for the
rest of the ride, but I kept thinking
about him. When the hayride ended and
everyone got off, I looked back one more
time toward the woods. He was gone. I
didn't mention it to anyone right then.
I figured maybe I imagined it or overreacted.
overreacted.
We went back to the lodge where they had
more games and food. My parents sat by a
bonfire while Ryan and I went around
collecting candy. Everything seemed
normal again. About an hour later, I saw
him again. Ryan and I were standing near
the snack table when I noticed someone
off to the side of the crowd. It was the
same man. He wasn't close, maybe 30 ft
away, but he was standing near the
treeine watching again. There were a lot
of people around, so it felt strange
that he'd just be standing there alone.
I remember my stomach tightening when I
realized he was looking in my direction.
I tried to get a better look at his
face, but it was hard because of the
lighting. I could make out a short beard
and I think his hat had some kind of
logo on it. I nudged Ryan and told him
about the guy. Ryan looked over and
said, "Maybe he's one of the workers." I
said, "He's not. He was in the woods
during the hayride." Ryan shrugged and
said, "Maybe he's a dad." I wanted to
believe that, but he wasn't talking to
anyone, just standing there. A few
minutes later, when I looked back again,
he was gone.
Around 9:00, if I had to guess, most of
the little kids had gone back to their
cabins. The event was winding down, but
Ryan and I still had energy. We decided
to walk around the resort before going
in. There was a trail behind the cabins
that led into the woods. Ryan said we
should go a little way in to do
something scary for Halloween before the
night ended. I didn't want to go too
far, but we had flashlights and I didn't
want to look like a coward, so we walked
down the dirt path together, laughing
and daring each other to keep going.
The farther we went, the quieter it got.
The sounds from the resort faded until
it was just the crunching of our shoes
on the path. We only went maybe 200 ft
in when we stopped near a clearing.
There was an old wooden sign nailed to a
tree that said private property. We
started throwing small rocks at the sign
and pretending to summon ghosts or
something dumb like that. Then we both
heard it. Footsteps.
Heavy, slow footsteps coming from behind
us somewhere deeper on the path.
We froze and turned around. Ryan
whispered, "Probably another kid." But
it didn't sound like a kid. Whoever it
was walked with weight like an adult. I
shine my flashlight down the path. The
light only went so far, and I couldn't
see anyone yet. Then the footsteps
stopped. For a few seconds, it was
completely silent. Then a voice spoke.
It said, "Hey there, boys." It was a
man's voice. Calm, but somehow
intimidating. Ryan looked at me and I
think he realized the same thing I did.
It was the man from the hayride. He
stepped into the light just enough for
us to see part of him. Same black jacket
and hat. "What are you two doing out
here?" he asked. "You like candy?"
Neither of us said anything. He pulled
something out of his pocket and held it
up. I could see the orange wrapper. It
was a Reese's cup. "I got a bunch more
of these in my cabin," he said. "Come
on, I'll give you some." Ryan took a
step back. "I remember his face going
pale." The man took a few steps closer
and then said, "You don't have to be
scared. It's Halloween. I'm just giving
candy out. I saw you boys on the hayride
earlier." When he said that, my stomach
basically dropped. I grabbed Ryan's arm
and whispered, "Run!" We both turned and
sprinted down the path toward the
resort. I could hear him behind us for a
second. His footsteps were pounding hard
as he started to chase. I didn't dare
look back. My heart was beating so hard
it hurt. The path seemed longer than
before. When we reached the edge of the
woods, I could finally see the lights
from the resort again. I yelled for help
as we ran out of the trees and back
toward the crowd near the bonfire. A few
adults turned toward us, startled. We
didn't stop until we got right up to the
people. I turned around expecting to see
the man behind us, but he wasn't there.
The path was empty. My parents came over
right away asking what happened. I told
them everything about the man watching
me on the hayride, seeing him near the
trees, and then following us into the
woods. Ryan confirmed it all. My dad and
another man grabbed flashlights and went
to check the path, but they didn't find
anyone. A few workers searched too, but
he was gone. The resort staff called the
local police to report what happened.
They arrived about 30 minutes later and
took statements from me, Ryan, and our
parents. They said they checked the
area, notify nearby cabins to keep an
eye out. That night, my parents didn't
let me out of their sight. We stayed in
the cabin with the door locked. I
couldn't fall asleep for hours. Every
noise outside made me jump. The next
morning, the police came back and told
us they searched the property, but
didn't find anyone matching the
description. No vehicles had been
reported missing, and no one fitting
that man's description had checked in.
They thought maybe it was a trespasser
from outside the resort. We left later
that day. I remember staring out the car
window as we drove past the woods, half
expecting to see him standing there
again. For weeks after that, I kept
thinking I saw him on the side of the
road, outside stores, even once at my
school parking lot, but it was always
someone else, or at least I hope it was.
Ryan and I kept in touch for a while. He
told me he couldn't sleep for days after
it happened. Nothing ever came of this.
The police never called again. The man
was never identified or caught. Now I'm
older, and when I think about that
night, what scares me isn't what he did,
it's what he could have done.
If we had believed him for even a
second, if we had walked toward him
instead of running, I don't think I'd be
here to tell this story. And every
Halloween since then, whenever I see
someone standing alone at the edge of a
crowd, I always think of that man.
Sometimes people who look like they're
part of the fun are watching for a
My name is Roger and this happened to me
on Halloween night three years ago. I'm
29 and work a boring office job, but
it's good pay. When this happened, I was
getting stuck with the stuff. Beginner's
time off, the shifts nobody wanted, etc.
So, when Halloween, my favorite holiday,
rolled around, I was actually quite
excited. It was never easy being the new
guy at work. So, I was wanting to enjoy
a night of seeing kids be kids and
chilling out at home watching movies. At
the time, I was living alone in a small
house on the outskirts of town with my
girlfriend, but she was out of town with
her parents. It wasn't isolated exactly.
I had neighbors, but the street got
really quiet once the trick-or-treating
hours ended. The families in the area
usually shut their lights off around
9:00 p.m. Since I didn't have kids, I
just handed out candy until the crowd
died down. On several past Halloweens,
before I got my own place, I was quite
used to the occasional ding-dong ditch
prank. That's why there is a trick in
treat here and there. That year,
Halloween fell on a Saturday, and I
remember it was chilly but clear out. By
10:30, I was lounging on my couch, half
watching a horror movie while picking
through a bowl of leftover candy. I
hadn't seen anyone in about an hour. So,
when I heard a faint knock at my side
door, I assumed it was stragglers. But
when I opened the door, no one was
there, just the empty driveway and the
faint rustling of leaves. I brushed it
off. Kids play pranks all the time on
Halloween. I headed back to my living
room to finish watching The Conjuring,
too. 15 minutes later, I heard the same
sound again. Only this time, it was
coming from the back door, the one that
led to the small deck. That set off
alarms in my head because nobody used
that entrance. I froze in the living
room, listening. The TV was off now, and
I could hear it clearly, the metal
rattle of the back door knob being
tested slowly and cautiously.
Whoever was trying my door was either
checking if it was locked cautiously or
believed it was unlocked and trying to
be quiet. I crept into the kitchen,
staying low, and that's when I saw him
through the window. A man was crouched
down near the door, wearing dark clothes
and a cheap cracked Halloween mask
pushed up on top of his head. In his
hand, he held a crowbar. He wasn't
trying to hide. He was deliberate and
calm, like he knew I was inside and
didn't care. I backed away quietly and
grabbed my phone, whispering to 911 what
was happening. The operator told me to
stay on the line, lock myself somewhere
safe, and not to engage. I didn't want
to make noise by slamming the doors
upstairs. So, I stayed crouched at the
top of the steps, clutching a kitchen
knife, whispering updates. I peaked down
and saw the man move away from the back
door. That's when I heard the faint pop
of a window screen being pried off. He
was at the basement window now.
I whispered to the dispatcher, "He's at
the basement." My voice was shaking. She
told me officers were already on their
way. Then came the worst moment. I heard
glass crack. He was breaking the window.
My blood ran cold. And it wasn't just a
smash and grab. He knew I was there. And
most burglars typically don't try to
enter a home where they know someone's
still inside. Minutes felt like hours.
The dispatcher kept me talking quietly
to make sure I was still okay. I heard
footsteps crunching outside. The man was
circling the house again. Then
headlights swept across the blinds.
Relief flooded me as flashing red and
blue lights pulled up in front. The man
bolted. I watched him sprint across my
yard, but he didn't get far. The
officers tackled him just past my
driveway. I didn't even realize I was
shaking until I saw one of the cops
leading him back in cuffs. That's when I
saw what he'd been carrying. the
crowbar, duct tape, and zip ties stuffed
in his bag. This wasn't a burglar
looking for valuables. This guy had a
plan, and it was something far worse.
The police told me he had a long record
of breaking into homes, and that he was
suspected in some other cases where
people had gone missing. To this day, I
hate being home alone on Halloween. It's
supposed to be about scares and fun, but
whenever I hear footsteps or knocking
outside at night, I can't help but
remember everything about this night.
The part that chills me the most is if
the police had been just 5 minutes
later, I might not be here to tell the
story. The police later followed up
weeks later. They told me what they
found in his backpack. He had a cold 45
handgun, several kitchen knives, and rope.
Click on any text or timestamp to jump to that moment in the video
Share:
Most transcripts ready in under 5 seconds
One-Click Copy125+ LanguagesSearch ContentJump to Timestamps
Paste YouTube URL
Enter any YouTube video link to get the full transcript
Transcript Extraction Form
Most transcripts ready in under 5 seconds
Get Our Chrome Extension
Get transcripts instantly without leaving YouTube. Install our Chrome extension for one-click access to any video's transcript directly on the watch page.
