10 Disturbing True Stories That Might Sound Like Horror Scripts

Sometimes, reality is far more terrifying than fiction. Hidden behind everyday routines are moments so disturbing, so unexpected, they defy logic and linger in the mind long after. These true stories aren’t born from horror movies—they’re real accounts of eerie coincidences, twisted human behavior, or unexplained events. They remind us that the world can be a frightening place, even when everything seems normal.

1.

• One night, while my husband was asleep, he muttered, “Don’t answer the phone.” I brushed it off, assuming it was just a dream. The next night, he said it again—same words, same tone.
  When I asked him about it the next morning, he looked confused. He didn’t remember saying anything. Then, the following day, the phone rang. I reached for it but paused.
  For some reason, I remembered his words and let it go to voicemail. Moments later, there was a knock at the door. To my shock, it was my husband—standing there, pale and shaken.
  He explained that he had received a call from a colleague about an urgent meeting. While heading there, he had been in a car accident. Thankfully, he wasn’t hurt—just rattled.
  Then he looked at me and said quietly, “Now I remember. I did have a dream about the phone. And something bad happening.” At that moment, everything made sense.

2.

• “When my grandparents bought their house for their family of 10, my grandpa found a fake wall upstairs. He tore it down and behind it, there were children’s clothes and play toys, almost like they walled off the room in a hurry.
  My mom told me stories of when she was sitting in her room and hearing something circling the walls around her that sounded like wallpaper being torn. My cousins also have stories of hearing footsteps coming up the stairs and stopping outside their door in the middle of the night.
  I still don’t go upstairs at their house because it’s always cold, and I get weird vibes up there. Even in my adult life, I have had scary dreams that take place in their upstairs.” © D***Rub**** / Reddit

3.

• “When I was in second grade, my older sister came into the bathroom while I was taking a bath to play with my toys with me. I didn’t find out until later that it was because my father was having a stroke, and she was making sure I didn’t finish taking a bath before the paramedics arrived.” © Kant4x / Reddit

4.

• My dog suddenly lost it one night—growling, barking, backing away from the glass patio door. I looked outside but saw nothing.
  When I stepped closer, I realized he wasn’t looking out. He was looking at my reflection behind me. Till this day, I still don’t know what my dog was looking, and honestly I don’t want to know.

5.

• “I was riding my bike to the end of my neighborhood to hang out with one of my friends, and when I got there, her mom told me there was a creepy guy just sitting at the end of the street, so I couldn’t come over. I was already at the house, so it made no sense to leave, but her mom insisted.
  I rode my bike home as quickly as possible and when I got home and told my mom, she was furious, and I wasn’t allowed to hang out with that girl again.” © *******jay / Reddit

6.

• “I was once on a road trip and literally falling asleep at the wheel. I was right at a rest area. So I pull in, crack the windows, cut the engine and recline my chair.
  Right as I start to fall asleep, I get this eerie feeling. I look out the driver’s side window and there is some creepy man just standing there. I ask if I can help him with something and not a word... Just stares at me.” SneakierNinja / Reddit

7.

• My girlfriend and I moved into this house a few months ago. We keep a baby monitor in the guest room for our niece.
  One night, I woke up to soft crying. Then a woman’s voice whispered, “Shhh... Mommy’s here.” The monitor was on. The room was empty.
  We don’t have kids. We told the story to our family, and they said, sometime monitors mixed up signals — so maybe it caught a signal from a different house. Actually, we hope so!

8.

• I was clearing voicemails and hit play on one I didn’t recognize. It was my mom’s voice. She died in hospice 11 months ago.
  The message was short: “I’m okay. You can stop looking.”
  The weirdest part? I hadn’t told anyone about the recurring dream I’ve had all year—where I’m searching for her in a crowd.

9.

• “I received a phone call from my childhood phone number (which hadn’t been ours for many years at this point) on my cell phone years later. I answered it, and there was dead air. When I called it back, it said the number was disconnected.” © savannnahbananaa / Reddit

10.

• “During a night, me and a couple of buddies walked through our neighborhood. Went past an elementary school and were joking around about ghosts.
  All of a sudden, I hear giggling coming from the field at the school. My buddy and I both look at each other in shock. We didn’t see anyone, so laughed it off.
  About 6 AM that morning, I am driving home and need to slam on my brakes. Little kid’s tricycle sitting square in the middle of the street. No one around. Creeped me out.” © Octaviar / Reddit

Some stories are so unsettling, they cling to the back of your mind long after the last word. Which of these stories made your skin crawl?