Halloween is a season for chilling stories with unexpected twists and disturbing films that get our hearts racing. Yet, sometimes, reality can be more shocking than fiction. In this compilation, we’ve gathered some genuinely troubling and unsettling true tales that will keep your mind engaged and send goosebumps all over your body.

• At 4 a.m., I woke up to a singing voice on my baby monitor. It repeatedly said, “Hush now, baby, I came for you.” We were alone. I ran to my baby’s room, and she was asleep. I tried to calm myself, saying it was a bad dream.
  But as I adjusted her blanket, I noticed something behind her arm. My blood ran cold when I found a note that said, “Make sure to take care of your child more!” I felt sick to my stomach and froze with the note in my hand.
  Hours later, I fell asleep in that position. When I woke up, the note was gone. I searched everywhere; it had vanished. I still wonder if it was all a bad dream, but I know for certain it was not—everything felt so real.

• When I was about 17, my friends wanted to do a ghost investigation at one of their houses. The girl who lived there and her sisters always talked about weird ghost stuff that happened. I was a skeptic, but had nothing better to do.
  About 4–5 hours in, I was sitting in a chair next to a closed door. The doorknob turned, the door opened halfway, then all the way, and then slammed shut. I then felt footsteps next to the chair. I am no longer fully a skeptic. © jado9814 / Reddit

• I was staying at my grandparents’ for the summer when I was fourteen. It was 11 p.m., and I was thirsty. I go out to the kitchen and see who I thought was my granddad sitting at the table eating a sandwich. I say hello, grab a glass of water, and head back to my room.
  My grandfather comes out of his room and asks who I was talking to. I turn around, and no one was there. It freaked me out and still does to this day. © Lucanthethird / Reddit

• Several years ago, when my son was young, I was sitting at the computer doing some work when I heard him wake up. He made a tiny whimper sound and the typical toddler, pathetic-sounding cry/moan, “mommmyyyyy.” So I jumped up to get him. Then I remembered my son was not home. He had been on a sleepover at my parents’. © Cellophaneflours / Reddit

• I got lost in the woods in North Carolina during a game of paintball. It was broad daylight, but the woods were really thick, and every tree looked exactly the same. It probably only lasted 1–2 minutes, but it felt like I was screaming “help” for hours.
  The worst part? Turns out, I wasn’t even lost. I was maybe 10 feet from everyone else, and they all heard me screaming “help,” but they thought I was acting as a decoy… © reincarN8ed / Reddit

• About two months after my father passed, my mom, all my brothers, and sisters were sitting around the dining room table. We were just talking about the past and sharing stories. We were talking about my father when, suddenly, the globe around the light on the ceiling fell straight down onto the center of the table. It didn’t break, roll, or move at all after hitting the table. © Unknown author / Reddit

• We’ve had little things happen during the 2.5 years we’ve lived here. Mostly sounds, like knocking, and always toward the front of the house and in the hallway to the kids’ rooms.
  However, one time I heard footsteps late at night that went from my wife’s side of the bed to the other side of the room, then just stopped. In the morning, my wife’s phone was where the footsteps had gone. She was confused as to why she would have placed it there, and I just kept my mouth shut. © cartmancakes / Reddit

• The night my elder brother died, we were living in an apartment. My neighbor across the hall has a ferocious Rottweiler who is very aggressive. Around 3 AM, there were three distinctive knocks on the door, and we heard the Rottweiler squealing in fear. We opened the door to see no one.
  The next day, my aunt came home and cried in grief. She said, “I felt like someone knocked on my door at 3 AM; I felt it was your brother, but there was no one.” © caprismart1978 / Reddit

• Back in the 90s, I was in the living room playing a game on the computer. My dad came in, talked to me for about a minute, then went back to his room to go to bed. I went back to playing the game.
  A few minutes later, I got this feeling that something was looking at me. I looked up, and in the same spot where my dad had been standing was a form in the shape of my dad. I could see through it, and it looked like iridescent smoke. © bur1sm / Reddit

• A long time ago, when I was just starting kindergarten, I would ride the afternoon bus home. For the first few weeks, I would see my grandpa on the side of the road by the entrance to my neighborhood. When I got home, I told my mom all about it—how he just stood there and waved at me. All I got were perplexed looks.
  The reason? My grandfather had died two weeks before school started. What I didn’t find out until recently was that he had died right by the pond, a few feet from that road. © Bookwormgirl991 / Reddit

• I was sitting in a movie theater with my aunt when I saw a man walk up the aisle. He was tall, youngish, and wearing white. He almost had a sort of glow about him. He reached the top of the stairs, turned towards the wall, and disappeared.
  I was stunned. My jaw dropped. At that moment, my aunt turned to me and said, “You saw him too?!” © obscura87 / Reddit