10+ Disturbing Stories That Could Outdo Any Suspense Novel

Sometimes, truth is more chilling than anything you’d read in a thriller. Real life can take unexpected turns that leave us shocked, confused, or even scared. In this collection, you’ll find short but powerful tales from everyday people who went through moments that felt like scenes from a tense drama. These stories aren’t about ghosts or fantasy — they’re about strange and unsettling events that could happen to anyone.

• We hired a nanny — a quiet, 24 y.o. girl. My son, 7, grew so attached so fast and threw tantrums when she was away.
  Yesterday, I found a laminated photo of my son in her bag. At first, I thought it was sweet. But then, I turned it and froze in horror. She had written 2 words: “MY son.” I was confused and decided to wait until her next visit to ask what it meant.
  But that same night, I got a frantic call from a mom. She said, “This girl is planning to take over your family. I hired her a year ago — she became obsessed with my son and eventually seduced my husband. Be careful. Fire her before it’s too late.”
  My entire world fell apart. I did what the woman said. The nanny cried, insisting it was all lies, but I couldn’t have her in my house for one more minute.

• My boss scheduled a mandatory video call for 7am. Everyone logged in, cameras on. He didn’t show. We waited 20 minutes before HR ended it.
  Later that day, we got an email saying he’d died in his sleep. I figured the call was a calendar error. But when I checked the invite again...
  It was sent at 9:12am that same morning. From his work account. With the subject line: “Please be on time.”
  I asked the IT department, and they told me that it must be a glitch or that his email was hacked. But I still get chills thinking about it.

• When I was nineteen, I was walking home from the library and a cop pulled up to the curb, asking to see my ID. I wasn’t sure what was going on, but I showed it to him.
  After a moment of verifying that I was who my ID claimed I was, he apologized and handed me a printout of a missing teen, a couple of years younger than me. She could’ve been my identical twin. I told him that I didn’t blame him for thinking I was her.
  I don’t remember her name, I was too shaken up by the picture. But I still wonder what she’s doing and if she’s okay. It was nearly twenty years ago. © lydsbane / Reddit

• My office elevator always stopped on floor 4 at 8:00 a.m. No one ever got in or out. Just opened, waited, closed. Every day.
  I started taking the stairs and watched it happen from the hallway window. Eventually I asked security why it always did that. They said no one’s had an office on 4 since the layout change last year.
  I checked our system logs. The door was being opened manually. And someone was badging in. Using an employee ID that was deactivated 11 months ago.

• Up until I was 9, I thought my stepdad was my real dad. They got a divorce, and I was pretty torn up. I wanted to live with my stepdad, but I couldn’t, and my mom wouldn’t tell me why.
  One day, I was going through my mom’s stuff and found a newspaper article for my father’s obituary. He died in a car crash when he was 24, and I was barely 18 months old when it happened. I still, to this day, don’t know why she lied to me about it, and I don’t even know if I should ask. © G0-Kart / Reddit

• When my great uncle died, we found out he had a different name. Different surname, middle name, and first name. You would think it’s weird because his mother is still alive and remembers choosing her son’s name, and his surname is the same as my mother’s. © NyxOrNoxGirl / Reddit

• One time I was coming in from seeing a movie, and my dad called me over to our computer. He said, “When did you go to Costa Rica with your school? They just posted a group picture with you in it.”
  I hadn’t gone on the trip with the community college I was attending and had no idea what he was talking about. But no joke, the guy he was referring to looked just like me, down to the white Polo that I was wearing a lot at the time. It was the most surreal experience I’ve ever had... What a coincidence! © Capt_GingerBeard93 / Reddit

• My mother supposedly has a fraternal twin. My grandmother couldn’t handle the thought of two kids, so she gave the male child away to someone she knew who was moving away.
  One night, in a rage, my grandmother screamed at my mom that she had kept the wrong child. It was never mentioned before or after that moment. My mom was roughly 12 at the time. She asked my great-grandmother about it, and she knew the boy’s name but not where they had moved to or who he was living with.
  My mom had actually met him once but didn’t know who he actually was. When she was pregnant with me, my mom asked my great-grandmother what my middle name should be—my middle name is actually his middle name. © ps***ot***man / Reddit

• When I was about 4, I got the chickenpox. All I remember was being in a darkened room at a relative’s house long ago, while the relative and my mom inspected my pox-riddled body.
  Years later, when I was 11, and it was time to get my vaccinations, the doctor asked me if I had had the chickenpox, and my mom said no. I reminded her that I did, but she didn’t remember. It must’ve been a dream... © queen_oops / Reddit

• My mom was looking at an old photo album and talking about a party she organized for her coworkers more than 25 years ago. She said it was nice of me to have helped her there, setting up the tables, etc. I have zero recollection of that party—nothing—so I thought she was joking.
  Then she showed me the pictures, and I’m there! It’s not like I was a kid; I was maybe 19 or 20. I wonder what else my brain erased. © sonia72quebec / Reddit

• I was at a gas station and had just finished buying something inside. I came out, and a burly man wearing a T-shirt with some sort of meat business logo on it came up to me, asking if I was interested in purchasing bulk frozen meats. I was absolutely broke except for about $500 available on my credit card.
  I didn’t want to buy anything, but my mouth blurted out “yes” as if my life depended on it. A few minutes later, I went home with a month’s worth of vacuum-sealed fish and chicken. I don’t know who said “yes,” but it wasn’t me. © NeuralBreakDancing/ Reddit

Life has a way of surprising us when we least expect it. Here are 12 People Whose Life Has More Twists Than a Telenovela.