1. Changing Lanes At Just The Right Moment
I was driving in the middle of the night, and the roads were rather empty. There was a tractor-trailer in front of me, but it was moving slow, so I changed lanes at a stop light. I had an odd feeling in the pit of my stomach that something bad was about to happen if I didn't change lanes.
A few moments later, I heard a loud crash and saw a tow truck slam into the back of the 18-wheeler. The truck was speeding at around 70 mph, and it tore off two rear axels. If I hadn't changed lanes, it would have crushed my car.
2. Mother Knows Best
When my mom was pregnant with my older sister, and she wanted to do something active. She and her family decided to go hiking, but on the day they were supposed to go, she felt off. She chose to stay behind while the rest of the family went hiking.
When her family went for a hike, they got lost, and this took place before everyone carried a cellphone. If my mom hadn't stayed behind, no one would have ever noticed that the family had gone missing. My mom got help, and she was glad she trusted her gut feeling. - ToldNoOne
3. You Don't Always Feel Better After A Hot Shower
It was a regular day like any other when I felt a sudden sharp pain in my chest. Although I have never been stabbed, this pain seemed equivalent to that, maybe worse. This wasn't the fist time I had this pain, and a hot shower made me feel better last time; however, my wife thought it was something worse.
I explained to my wife that I should just jump in the shower and it will feel better, but she thought it would be best to go to the emergency room. When we got to the hospital I was examined, and it was not the news I was expecting. The doctor said I had a pulmonary embolism on both lungs. If I had waited any longer, I would have been dead. - verpin_zal
4. Tornado Warning
When I was still in college, my now wife and I were still long distance. I would usually leave Chicago early Friday morning and get to her by Friday afternoon. On this particular evening, I was closing up at work and something in my mind told me to leave that night, so I did.
When we were having lunch on Friday afternoon, a tornado warning went off, and we both thought nothing of it. However, when I started my trip back home that Sunday, I passed through a town that was devastated by the tornados. It quickly hit me that if I had left on Friday morning, I would have been in the middle of the tornado. - Jvac23
5. The Sweet Smell Of Apples Is Not Always A Good Sign
When I was a baby, my mom thought there was something wrong with me, but the doctor didn't believe her. She called them multiple times, and they said they would only see me after two weeks. My mom started yelling at them on the phone and said she would get me checked whether they liked it or not.
My mom finally got me into the doctor, and after he smelled my breath and listened to my breathing, he said we needed to go to the hospital right away. It turned out that I had type 1 diabetes, and if we waited another day, I would have died. The apple smell on my breath was a a sign of built up ketones in the blood. - FracturedPixel
6. Some Cats Really Do Have Nine Lives
One afternoon I was in the middle of doing my laundry. I moved everything from the washer to the dryer and shut the door. As I was about to turn on the dryer, I had the overwhelming feeling that I needed to open the door and check the clothes again.
I turned off the machine and opened the dryer door. As soon as the door swung open, my cat jumped out. She didn't realize what was about to happen, but it was fortunate that I double-checked. Ever since this incident, I always check the dryer before and after putting clothes inside. - Fairyboi_
7. No One Knows Your Body Better Than You
One evening I began having intense period-like cramps, so I made an appointment with the doctor for the next morning. At my appointment, the doctor did an ultrasound and discovered a grapefruit-sized tumor on my ovaries. Thankfully, the tumor encased the cancer, so it had not spread. Following the surgery, my doctor gave me an estrogen patch to keep my hormones steady.
The following year, I noticed a weird pain in my left breast. I had a feeling it was cancer again and removed the estrogen patch right away. Within a week, I had a bi-lateral mastectomy and reconstruction. My doctor wanted only to remove the lump and treat the rest with radiation. I disagreed because I never wanted to tell my children I had cancer again. I am now celebrating five years cancer-free. - ktmdb
8. Staredown In The Parking Garage
The parking garage at work has always creeped me out. It is poorly lit, very large, and it seems like a scene out of a horror movie. I always stay alert when people get in the elevator with me, and I watch what floor they are going to. One evening, a man got in the elevator with me, and he pressed the button for floor six while I was on eight.
When we reached the sixth floor, he didn't get out of the elevator and stayed on till eight. I started walking to my car, and I thought the man remained in the elevator because he missed his floor. Well, he must have waited till I had walked further away and then began to follow me. I stopped and turned to stare him down. He was like a deer-in-the-headlights as he turned around and walked back to the lift. - Suspicious_Rabbit
9. Green Means Don't Go
Usually, I am the kind of driver that quickly looks both ways and speeds off at an intersection, but something was different on this night. It was very late as I pulled out of my apartment complex one evening, and I stopped in a left-turn lane. The light was red, and I watched as it turned green. For some strange reason, I couldn't go, my body wouldn't let me hit the gas.
A few seconds later, a car comes speeding through the intersection, running the red light. If I had turned, the car would have slammed into me and wrecked my vehicle. I was so shaken, so I sat until the light when red, and then green again. I turned and pulled over to call my sister because I couldn't belive what had happened. - BowlingForPennies
10. Don't Watch Movie Trailers With Strangers
When I was 12, I went to the mall with my friends, and we stayed till 8 PM. My mom was on her way to pick us up, so we were waiting outside when a man approached us. He was in his 30's, and he asked my friends and me if we would like to watch movie trailers and take surveys for money. My friends agreed, but I had a horrible feeling about this man. When my friends decided they wanted to take the surveys, the man pointed towards the side entrance, which leads to the deserted back parking lot.
As my friends began to walk, I was dragging behind, and that is when I noticed the van. It had its headlights on, and the back doors were open. I stopped and shouted, "my mom is here to take us all home." My friends strangely looked at me, but I did my best to convince them how terrified I was. They eventually got the message and said goodbye to the man. When I looked behind me, the man and the van were both gone. - Some_Explorer
11. Earthquake Conundrum
When I was younger, I decided to reorganize my room. I had been moving things around all day, and I stacked a bookshelf on top of my dresser to give me more space. It had two heavy encyclopedias and lots of other things on it. I also moved my bed parallel to the dresser and fell asleep because of all the hard work.
Around 4 AM, I woke up because I needed a drink, and I thought I should move the dresser. It didn't seem sturdy or safe to have it across from my bed. I got up, and as I went to get water, the 1994 Northridge earthquake hit. My bookshelf came toppling down onto my bed, where I had been sleeping just moments before. - Jhs1981
12. Voices In My Head
After staying out all night at a party, it was the early hours of the morning when I drove my friend home. I was driving fast down a steep hill as if I was on autopilot because of the long night. We were about half a block from a major intersection, and I saw we had a green light when something bizarre happened.
A voice in my head said, “You may want to slow down because if you don’t, you might lose your life.” It didn't sound like me or how I talk, but I listened to it and decreased speed. Just as I was about to enter an intersection, a car ran the red light right in front of me. I told my friend I just saved our lives, but he just groaned and went back to sleep. - asaulty
13. Major Home Renovation Fail
There was something wrong with the ceiling in my room, so my dad went into the attic to fix it. He told me to sit right below where he was working so that I could guide him to the correct spot. I got up to go to the bathroom, and when I returned, I couldn't believe my eyes.
My dad had fallen through the ceiling, and he was sitting on a piled of drywall and insulation in the exact spot I was just moments before. He only had a few scratches and bruises, but if I hadn't gone to the bathroom, he would have fallen and seriously injured me. - permalink
14. A Mother's Instincts Are The Strongest
When I was in the fourth grade, I had a horrible headache before school one day. I asked my mom to stay home, and she had a bad feeling about that day, so she agreed. I went back to sleep, and later that morning I got the worst news ever. A woman had run her car into the school and smashed into the lunchroom.
The crash killed my best friend, and if I had gone to school, I would have been dead too. The school assumed I was under the bricks because me and my friend were always together. They called to ask my mom if I was home, and we both are so grateful that she followed her instincts that day. - CrazyCatLady595
15. The Nose Always Knows
When I was eight, my brother and I stayed at my grandparent's house. My grandparents had a farmhouse with old machinery, gas tanks, and hay bails on the ground floor, while the upstairs was fully furnished guest rooms. We were supposed to stay in the guest room in the barn, but I felt dizzy and smelt something terrible as soon as I walked into the room.
I told my grandparents that we couldn't sleep there, so my brother and I slept on the couch in the main house. In the middle of the night, a gas leak ignited in the barn, and it blew up. Everything went up in flames, including the guest rooms where we were supposed to be sleeping. I must have smelled the gas that had already leaked into the room, and it saved our lives. - CichaelMlifford
16. Slow And Steady Wins The Race
When I was 18, I thought I was invincible. I was an adrenaline junky, but like anyone else, I had my limits. One night I with some friends on a back road, and the girl who was driving was going way too fast. I said she needed to slow down, or she needed to let me out of the car.
I had to scream at the top of my lungs for her to let me out. A week later there was a tragic story on the news. The same girl had been driving down the exact road we were on and she was going 90 mph. She lost control of the car, and no one survived the crash. It was horrible, and it scared me to my core. - Canadian_Neckbeard
17. Double Check Your Medication Dosages
When my son was a baby, he got super sick, and he was having trouble breathing. I took him to the urgent care where they prescribed him steroids and a breathing treatment. It seemed standard until I looked at the dosage. It was abnormally large, so I only gave my son half and none of the steroids.
The hives from his previous antibiotics were not going away, so I took my son to the pediatrician. She told me that I saved my son's life because the urgent care doctor prescribed a dose of medicine for a 300-pound man, not a 30-pound baby. My doctor reported the urgent care, and the people were fired. - strikeuhpose
18. Stranger Danger
When I was young, we learned never to trust strangers, but I never thought that lesson would come in handy. One day, my dad ran into the library to quickly return a book and I stayed in the car with the window open, but the doors were locked. As soon as my dad walked inside, a man approached my window.
The man said that my dad left the lights on, and he needed me to unlock the doors so he could turn them off. I had a feeling not to trust this man even though I was so young. I wouldn't let him in the car, and then I saw my dad coming out of the library. The strange man disappeared, and I immediately told my dad what happened. He was terrified, but I didn't understand till years later how lucky I was. - lithiumbaddery
19. Move Out Of The Way
I had to take my mom to a follow-up appointment after her back surgery, and as we were driving down the freeway, we got stopped in a bunch of traffic. There was a horrible accident, so highway patrol was filtering people to the right-hand exit. I had a gut feeling that we needed to get into the far-left lane instead, so I quickly switched lanes.
Less than a minute after I moved, A garbage truck came barreling through traffic and slammed into the car and flipped over onto the vehicle that was just in front of us. I drive a tiny sports car, so if I hadn't switched lanes, that truck would have crushed and killed up. - skelenaton
20. Run As Fast As You Can
When I was in elementary school, I would walk home. I lived in a safe neighborhood, so my parents didn't mind when I walked alone. One afternoon, a man in a beat-up white pickup truck drove by slowly, and he was eyeing me. He drove ahead, turned into a driveway, and turned around to pass me again. He drove past me a third time.
The man started to look at me like prey, and he was calculating his thoughts. I watched as he turned onto another side street so that he could turn around again, and at this moment, I started sprinting as fast as I could. I didn't see him again, so my running must have scared him away. - sunlitstranger
21. A Disastrous First Date
I was on a date with this guy, and things were going well. He seemed super sweet and had an adorable dog, so what could possibly be wrong with him. It was cold out, so he offered for me to wait in his car while mine heated up. When I got in the car, I noticed the door was locked, and he conveniently mentioned the unlock button on my side was broken. Alarms were going off in my head, but I tried to remain calm and think of a plan. We continued talking, and I mentioned religion and how I prayed. He then turned to his dog and said she must be a keeper. I noticed in the rearview mirror that there was a rope in his back seat, and I thought it was strange considering he had been making kidnapping jokes since we got in the car.
I quickly figured out a plan and went with it. I told him that I was enjoying my time and felt a strong connection even though it was only the first date. He was so surprised, and I added that I was disappointed that I had to go out of town this weekend so that I couldn't see him. I also mentioned that I had to get going because my friend was waiting for me at home. I asked if we could hug outside of the car, and he agreed as long as I promised to call him when I was back in town. When we hugged, I saw an ax and trash bags in his backseat, so I got in my car quickly and never saw him again. - RedditHostage
22. Missed The Bus, But Escaped Death
I was running late for the bus one day, and just as I got to the station, the first bus left. I waited for the next bus, and it arrived a half-hour later. After a few minutes on the bus, we ran into some traffic. Everyone was wondering what was causing the traffic.
I heard through the chatter of the other passengers that the bus I had missed was hit by a truck. One thing to note is that I always sit in the back of the bus on the driver's side. The bus was hit in that exact spot. If I had run to catch the bus, there is a high chance that I would have been dead. - Cosmo_shaggy
23. "I Would Have Died If I Wasn't A 'Wimp'."
My husband is a state trooper, and he said he would always remember one specific car accident. There was a group of teenagers speeding down the highway when one boy begged them to slow down. The other boys laughed at him and said he could walk home if we wanted to be a wimp. The let him out on the side of the road and made fun of him as they sped away.
A few miles later, the driver flew off an overpass, went over a guard rail, and crashed on the freeway below. The driver and other passengers were killed on impact, and luckily there was no one driving below them. The boy who was left at the side of the road couldn't believe that they had crashed, and he said, "I would have been dead if I wasn't a 'wimp.'"
24. Pit Bull Versus Bear
One summer I was staying with my friend at their house in the country. I was started to fall asleep next to my pit bull Izzy, and my friend was in the other room, already sleeping. In the middle of the night, I was awoken by a loud noise, and Izzy woke up too. My friend had a young daughter, so I began to panick.
I grabbed a fire poker and walked to the door with Izzy by my side. I had a horrible feeling and barred up the door as best I could, and went to the window to look outside. As I looked out the window I suddenly saw a giant bear and her cubs. She was very angry and ready to attack. If I had gone out of the front door, Izzy and I would have been bear food. - Fake_fakington
25. The Longest Run Home From School
When I was younger, I would occasionally take the 15-minute bus ride home from school, but I enjoyed the hour-long walk more. After school, I decided to walk home, and I was on the main road when I saw a white work van starting to follow me. It pulled over and a man opened the doors to wave me over. I usually like helping people, but I knew in my gut that I shouldn't trust this person, so I kept walking. When I looked back he was walking at a relaxed pace behind me.
The man started waving his arms again, so I began to jog, and he picked up his pace too. I started to sprint as fast as I could onto a side street, and when I looked back, he wasn't there. I was out of breath as I waited for the light to change, and when I began walking again, I saw him following me still. I was only two minutes from my building, so I ran the rest of the way. Once I was inside the building I checked, and he was standing far away staring at me. He eventually left, and I never saw him again. - Leelougirl89
26. Always Be Aware Of Your Surroundings And Other People
When I was in middle school, I got into a summer program at the local community college. It ended before my mom got out of work, so I would take the light rail to the community center or library. It was my first time being alone, so my parents got me my first cellphone. Each day I would follow the same routine of getting off the train and grabbing a burger. A few times, I noticed a man who would do the same thing, but I assumed it was a coincidence. I told my mom about it, but she said it was just someone going about their day like me.
One day I decided to eat in the burger joint instead of taking it to-go. As I ate, I looked out the window and saw the same man walking in the direction that I usually go. He started looking around the parking lot, and before he could spot me, I ran into the bathroom and called my mom to get me right away. I never went that way again, but a week later there was a chilling story on the news. A little girl had been abducted from the shopping center with the burger place. I assumed the suspect was the man who always followed me. - Mongoosedog12
27. "But Why Can't I Go Play?"
When I was young, I used to walk to my friend's houses all the time. It was a sunny afternoon when my friend came over to ask if I could go and play at her home. My mom had a bad feeling in her gut and told me I couldn't go to my friend's house.
I was slightly upset, and my friend began to walk home. When she was walking down the hill, she didn't stop at the sign, and she was hit by a car. We heard the crash and scream and ran outside. Thankfully, my friend survived, and she is healthy today. If my mom hadn't said no, that would have been me. - TsuDoughNym
28. Never Let Anyone Run Alone
I am an avid runner and decided to go through one of the popular trails along the river bank close to home. Only a few people were running in this area when I saw a man running as well. I quickly passed him, but then I noticed that he started to keep pace with me. I noticed that he began to run diagonally closely behind me. I started to get a feeling that he could easily push me into the tall grass next to the river and no one would be around to help me.
I kept running, and that anxious feeling wasn't going away, so I dialed 9-1-1 on my phone with the screen facing towards him. I didn't push send right away and continued running into the next town. After a few minutes, I realized he was no longer behind me, and when I turned around, he was completely gone. I assume he quickly went away when he saw me dialing for help, and it scared him off. - Micmac1007
29. The Van Without License Plates
One evening I was walking down my street a little after sunset. In the distance, I saw a van approaching, but it didn't have its headlights on. This was the first sign that tipped me off. It started to slow down as if it was following me towards a part of the sidewalk that would put me between a fence and the van. As I got closer to this spot, I noticed the van doors begin to open.
In a split second, I ran to the divider in the middle of the street. I would rather have been hit by a car than be pulled into the van. After I ran away, the van sped away, and I noticed it didn't have any license plates on it. I called the police, but they never found the van. I always wonder what would have happened if I wasn't more careful. - winterbird
30. A Strong Feeling Brought Me Home For A Reason
I was sleeping over at my boyfriend's house one night when a strong feeling woke me up and urged me to drive home in the middle of the night. Although it was a 40-minute drive, I knew I had to go back right away. Just as I arrived home, I heard a tremendous crash from down the street.
No one else seemed to be coming out of their homes to investigate, so I went to look. I saw a man in a burning car and pulled him out to safety. I helped the man before he burned alive, and I have the scars to prove it. I don't know why I thought of going home, but I am thankful that I did. - louderharderfaster
31. "My Friend Says He Knows You"
One afternoon I was running some errands, and as I walked back to my car, I noticed an SUV with dark windows parked next to me. It was on the drivers side of my car, so to get in the front seat I would have to squeeze between the two vehicles. It was in the middle of the day at a busy time, so I wasn't particularly worried.
As I'm about to open the car door, a man comes from the other side of the car and says, "Hey, my friend says he knows you," and asks me to go to the other side of his car. I tense up and standstill as I put my key between my fingers in a fist, ready to fight or run. Just as I am about to sprint to the nearest store, my co-worker comes around from the other side of the car, and he feels terrible that I am so panicked. - CorgiKnits
32. Sometimes Procrastination Can Save Your Life
I work for a telecom company as a frontline tech, and about 15 years ago, the was a major storm overnight. Due to the storm, a tree brought down a pole along with a cable line, so our team had to go fix it. My co-worker and I were re-splicing each end from a lift bucket when he said he didn't feel safe. I was almost finished, but I figured I could finish the rest tomorrow.
The next day I went back to the site to finish the work alone. When I arrived, the pole my co-worker had been fixing was gone, and the cable was ripped off again. The neighbor told me that a tree fell less than 30 minutes after we left, and it destroyed the pole and wire. If we hadn't left, we both would have died. - Channing2nd
33. "X" Marks The Spot
This might have been a coincidence, or maybe it really was my intuition guiding me. One morning before i left for class, I decided i should take the trash out with me, which added an extra ten second to my morning routine. I got ready, grabbed the trash, and took the garbage to the bin ten feet from my door.
A few seconds after I had emptied the trash and began walking to my car, the neighbor from the third floor poured shards of broken glass out of his window. The glass went all over the path in front of me, and suddenly I realized something. If I hadn't taken out the trash, the glass would have rained down on my head. - _helloalien
34. Split Second Decisions Can Save Lives
I used to be a courier, and I used my motorcycle as transportation. I had ridden the same routes so many times that I had developed a sort of autopilot. I was on a delivery one day when the traffic light turned green and I started to drive forward. Suddenly I caught a glimpse of a fast moving object in the corner of my eye.
I hit the breaks so hard that the front wheel of my bike went into the air. Just as the motorcycle stood straight up, a speeding car ran the red light and hit my front tire. I spun around and got thrown on the ground. Luckily, I only had a few bruises, but I could have died if I hadn't hit the breaks. - Shaggy99
35. You Can't Always Trust The Roadblocks
I live in rural Connecticut, and one evening I asked my mom to drive me to my friend's house. We were driving along a dark winding road when we came across a single strand of caution tape that was blocking off the road. It had been ripped and tied back together a few times, which we both found odd. My mom had a horrible feeling about this and put the car in reverse immediately.
Later that night, another woman drove up to the same spot and got out of her car to examine it. She called the police, and a moment later, she was grabbed from her car. The people didn't know she had already called 9-1-1, so when they started to speed off with her in the trunk, the police were just arriving. The cops chased the car and saved the woman, but the lesson is not to trust every roadblock. - mayagreene52
36. Something Was Wrong With My Mom, And I had To Protect My Sister
When I was younger, I used to live with my mom and sister. One particular afternoon, I felt that something was terribly wrong with my mother, so I took my younger sister into the bathroom and locked the door. It was typical for us to play with blankets and towels in the tub, so she didn't sense anything was off. After a while, I heard my mom leave, and then the phone rang. I snuck downstairs, and it was my grandpa calling to tell me he was picking us up.
Ever since that day, we have lived with our grandparents. It wasn't until I was much older that I found out what really happened that day. My mom was having a psychotic break, and when she left the house, she drove far away and called my grandpa. She told him that she hurt my sister and me and left us in the woods. It was all a hallucination to her. My grandpa called the police, and she was sent to a psychiatric hospital. - HFXmer
37. The Van Circled Around Too Many Times
One evening I was walking with my son, daughter, and ex-husband. There was a festival in town and we decided to go all together since I am still friends with my ex-husband. As we were walking back from the fair, it was dark and my kids ran ahead of us as we chatted. It was a residential neighborhood, so I always thought my kids were safe if I could see them. I noticed a van drive by, and I just assumed it was lost because many of the roads had been closed.
I started to feel strange because it circled back two more times, so I told my kids to come back, and we held their hands. The van then parked on the street we were about to turn on to, and I stayed with my children as my ex approached the car. As soon as he got closer, the van sped off. I reported the liscene plate number, make, and model to the police, but I always wonder what would have happened to my children if they kept running ahead of us. - MrHobbes14
38. Some Job Opportunities Aren't Always Worth Taking
I was in between jobs when I finally got an offer. It was an amazing opportunity that offered double my previous salary and it was in a city only two hours away. Although it was a wonderful opportunity, I had a strong feeling that I shouldn't take it. Many people told me I shouldn't pass up this position, but it just felt wrong to me.
I decided to turn down the job, and my feeling turned out to be right. Two months after I declined the position, the company was sold, and everyone in the department lost their jobs. If I had taken the opportunity, I would have been stuck in a different city without my friends or family, and a job. - Charleroy26
39. "I Will Never Forget The Sound Of His Shoes Hitting The Pavement"
About ten years ago, I had a job that started at 6 AM on the weekends. I would take the train to work, and the station was about 15 minutes from my house. It was dark one morning when I left the house, and I noticed a man walking in front of me. I usually saw homeless people collecting cans or asking for change and it was usually harmless, but there was something different about this man.
I decided to cross the street and take my phone out of my backpack. It was the only way to get to the train, so I continued walking. Suddenly, I heard a loud noise behind me, and it was the man running towards me with his pants down. I shouted that I was calling 9-1-1, and he ran away. I did call the police, but they wanted me to wait there till they arrived, and I was too shaken, so I continued to head towards the train for work. I will never forget the sound of him running up behind me. - Crocodile_susan
40. Sometimes Strangers Aren't So Kind
I was at a party for my boyfriend's dad when I started to have a horrible headache. I didn't want to ruin his night, so I told him I would walk home since we lived close by. I began my walk back down the main road, and I passed a man sitting drinking a beer. A minute after I passed, I heard the sound of a bottle smash, but I assumed it was from one of the pubs on the street. Although I thought I was fine, something inside me was screaming that I was in danger.
I decided to go back to the bar, and I asked the smokers out front for a lighter and began to chat. That's when I saw the man pass me and aggressively stare at me. My heart was pounding, and I was terrified, so I asked the bouncer to call me a cab. A week later, I saw the man's mug shot because he was wanted for assault. - McStaken
41. Beating Death Twice In A Few Seconds
My company was moving to a new office space, so I offered to help. I had to pick up equipment from our old office and bring it to the new one. To get the stuff, I had to park in this small alleyway and go in through a 20-foot high steel gate. The security guard said he would watch the camera so he could see when I arrived to open the gate. When I arrived, I looked at the camera, and the gate started to rise up. I figured I could duck under when it got four feet off the ground.
However, something in the pit of my stomach told me not to go under, and a second later, an axel broke, and the gate came crashing down. If I had gone under I would have been crushed to death. I was in such shock that I stumbled backwards towards the side of the building jus nearly missing a four foot deep hole. The security guard was amazing and released that I was alright. - PseudonymousWrecks
42. "His Face Never Left My Mind"
I was walking home from my grandma's house one day when a car pulled up beside me. I kept walking trying to ignore it, but the car was slowly following me. When I turned to look at the driver it was a man in his 30s or 40s with the most disturbing grin on his face.
He slowly came towards me, and I started running and screaming for help. A neighbor let me into their house, and we called the police. When the police arrived, they searched his car and found handcuffs, a blindfold, and a container with holes poked in it. I will never be able to get his face out of my mind. - xacidprincessx
43. Always Remember To Wear A Seat Belt
I had just left my parent's house one day when I had a strange feeling that I should put on my seatbelt. Yes, it's the law, but I don't usually wear the shoulder strap. I put it on, and two miles later, my car started to drift a little. I tried to make a steering correction, but the car jerked, and I was headed for oncoming traffic. I tried hitting the brakes, but the car felt like it was hopping from side to side.
Then, the car plunged off the road and crashed into a telephone pole. Miraculously, I was unharmed, but my car was totaled. My parents had it towed how, and my dad discovered that there was something wrong with a bolt in the steering column. It was on that day that I learned my lesson about always wearing a seatbelt.
44. Kindness Can Get You Out Of Almost Any Situation
Right from the start, alarms were going off in my head, but I got in the car with a person I had never met anyway. This man kidnapped me and dragged me to the woods. My heart was pounding, but I knew I had to calm down. I figured out a way to talk myself out of the situation by stroking this man's ego. I told him that I would be "his" forever if he let me go because my friend was waiting for me and she knew I was getting a ride.
I told him that if I didn't show up soon, she would know something was wrong and I couldn't be with him like he wanted. Somehow I convinced him to drive me to my friends, and the entire drive I was reassuring him that I wasn't upset, but glad "he chose me." I made it out safe besides some bruises, and the man went to jail for a year. Once he got out, he was sent back to prison for another crime. - chumbucketfan4life
45. A Real-Life Guardian Angel
I had been dating this girl for a while, and we got into a routine where I would go over to her house after work and stay till around two in the morning. Sometimes when I would go home, she would follow me and stop at the 24-hour grocery store by her house. Sometimes I would sit in the parking lot to make sure she was safe and occasionally I wouldn't. One night I was leaving because I didn't feel great and she insisted I went straight home.
We both got in our cars, and even though I wasn't feeling well, I knew I had to make sure she was safe. I pulled into the parking lot, and she didn't know I was there, so I just watched her walk in from afar. As she entered, a man walked out, and he looked back at her a few times, He got in his truck and began talking to his friend who was waiting in the car. After a few minutes, they grabbed something from the back and headed inside, so I followed. They were looking through every aisle until they found her, and then I popped out of nowhere, and she was confused. The men went away, and I made sure she got home safe. - Paulvs88
46. Never Leave A Club Alone
When I was 25, I was at a club feeling tipsy and decided to walk home. It was very late, and no one was around. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw two men leaning against a wall smoking. One of them began to walk out of sight, and I got chills all over my body. The next thing I know, one of the guys locks arms with me.
The man tried to touch me, and I said, "No, let's keep walking." I asked if he could give me his jacket because I thought that would give me time to get away, but he smiled and gripped me tighter. Since there was no one around to help, I decided to relax my body so he would loosen his grip. At the right moment, I punched him as hard as I could, and he fell to the ground. I was then able to get away safely. - l1a2
47. Hometown Horror
One evening when I was 21, I drove my friend home, and she lived in a rural town right outside of St. Louis, Missouri. As we were driving we passed an abandoned farmhouse that she told me about, and it seemed like something out of a movie because she said how she and her sister would play there as children. After I drop her off, I head back and pass the farmhouse again, and see two things blocking the road. They were not there when I passed a few minutes ago, so I start to panic. Whoever put them there made it so the only way to get around is to get out and move them. I was in an SUV so I maneuvered my way around through a ditch on the side and sped away. I called my friend to tell her the next day and she thought it was weird.
I hadn't thought about this incident in a while because I moved away from my hometown. I went back to visit once, and I ran into my friend. She asked if I remembered that night, and then she told me this horrific story. Not long after the night I drove by the farmhouse, her family was woken up in the middle of the night by two girls who were banging on their back door naked and injured. They had been abducted from 40 minutes away and brought to the abandoned farmhouse. They managed to get free and ran for the first light they could find, which was my friend's house. The woman survived, but the men were never caught. My friend and I are convinced the roadblock was so that the men could attack me. - elzamay
48. Trust Your Gut Feeling
I was out at a bar with my friends one night when these two men started shouting at each other. One man got up and left, which I thought was strange. My friends thought I was nosey, but I insisted that we needed to leave right away. They reluctantly agreed, and we went to a different bar in the next town. For the rest of the night I couldn't stop thinking about those two men arguing.
The next morning when I turned on the news, I couldn't believe what I saw. The man who left went home to get a gun so he could do a drive-by. He shot four people at that bar only an hour after we had left. I am happy that I trusted my instincts because that could have been me or one of my friends who was killed. - beardedalien013
49. Open A Window For Some Fresh Air
I used to sleep in the basement, and one evening I woke up from a deep sleep because there was an odd smell in the room. I decided to open the window in hopes that it would dilute the horrible smell. Although, when I woke up in the morning I had a strange feeling.
I found out in the morning that the recent snowfall had blocked the heater exhaust vent, and carbon monoxide was leaking into my house. If I didn't open the window, the room would have continued to fill with poisonous gas, and I would have died. - Thetow