[00:00:00] This podcast contains adult language and content. Listener discretion is advised. If you have a story to share, send it to letsnotmeetstories at gmail.com. Enjoy the show.
[00:00:41] This all started when I was probably around 9 years old. My family and I lived in a small town in the Midwest where my mom worked at a Pizza King until 9pm every weeknight.
[00:00:52] My dad worked until midnight at the electronics store called Johnson Controls. My brother was a year younger than me, which left our older sister, a 13-year-old, to supervise. But she was always doing God knows what.
[00:01:09] Because of these circumstances, I realized later my brother and I were perfect targets.
[00:01:16] We had predictable schedules and a lack of supervision. We were comfortable in our tight-knit Midwestern neighborhood.
[00:01:25] One day, during the summertime, my brother convinced me to go look for some kittens that he had seen.
[00:01:32] So, I put my shoes on and I followed my little brother out the door.
[00:01:36] We walked the streets in search of the kittens, completely unsupervised.
[00:01:41] My brother led me about six blocks away from our house, when someone called out to us.
[00:01:47] I turned my head to find four young men leaning up against an old, gray, two-door car.
[00:01:54] They were standing outside of a known drug house, smoking cigarettes, seemingly minding their own business.
[00:02:02] The guy who called out to us was closest to the passenger side door, and he asked,
[00:02:08] Do you guys want some gum?
[00:02:10] I stopped dead in my tracks, and my brother looked confused.
[00:02:15] They're offering us gum, I thought.
[00:02:18] It was eerily reminiscent of our early stranger danger assemblies in the school auditorium.
[00:02:25] My brother and I looked at them for a second, but then turned around and started walking back the way that we came without saying anything.
[00:02:33] They yelled at us to stop, and we turned our heads and saw the driver getting into the car,
[00:02:38] while the guy in the passenger side of the car pulled the seat up to let the other two men into the backseat.
[00:02:45] As we heard their car engine start, we ran.
[00:02:49] We ran through the yard of a man whose lawn was always overgrown.
[00:02:53] We tried to crouch low in the grass so that we could lose them, but the loud engine of that old car was getting closer.
[00:03:01] It didn't occur to either of us that they could see the grass moving as we crawled.
[00:03:07] When we realized this, we sprang up and we ran full speed.
[00:03:12] We weaved in and out of people's yards to try and buy us some time, but they followed.
[00:03:18] There was no outrunning their car, so we made a beeline to one of our neighbors' houses and started banging on their back door.
[00:03:27] The car sped from around the corner and stopped abruptly in their driveway,
[00:03:32] so we abandoned that idea and hopped over the fence instead.
[00:03:36] We eventually made it back to our house and thought that we had lost them.
[00:03:41] As we were collecting ourselves, my mom's voice startled me from behind.
[00:03:46] Where have you been? Where is your sister?
[00:03:50] I think my mom had come home since she was on deliveries that day.
[00:03:55] Sometimes, when someone messed up making a pizza, the owners would let my mom take it home to us if she was on a delivery,
[00:04:01] so that we would have something to eat while we were home alone.
[00:04:05] I started to tell my mom about what happened.
[00:04:08] She didn't look like she was too keen on buying the story.
[00:04:12] That is until I stopped mid-sentence at the sound of a sputtering engine.
[00:04:18] I looked outside, and the four men drove past our house slowly,
[00:04:23] looking in our windows, making eye contact, and giving us a menacing look.
[00:04:29] My mom saw the men, so she tried to close the blinds, but failed since the track was broken.
[00:04:35] She had to leave and get back to work after that, so she told us to stay inside for the rest of the day.
[00:04:42] Later that night, there was still no sign of our sister.
[00:04:46] My brother and I were hungry, so we made some mac and cheese and put on Hannah Montana to get our minds off of things.
[00:04:53] We were trying to relax, so I remember that we were laughing at scenes that weren't even funny,
[00:05:00] which made my nerves start to settle a bit.
[00:05:03] However, I kept seeing this tiny red light out of the corner of my eye.
[00:05:09] It was coming from the window.
[00:05:12] I just kept brushing it off since I figured it couldn't be anything, right?
[00:05:18] After some time, curiosity got the best of me, so I finally stood up and went over to the window to investigate.
[00:05:25] I saw that the tiny red light was a light from a video camera.
[00:05:31] There was a guy standing there, trying to record us through the window.
[00:05:35] I gasped at the sight of this, and he ran away immediately,
[00:05:39] towards another man illuminated by a street lamp down the road.
[00:05:44] Naturally, I panicked and cried.
[00:05:47] I ran outside, screamed my sister's name as loud as I could, and ran back inside.
[00:05:52] I then called 911 and my mom,
[00:05:55] and I told them that there were two men with a video camera outside on the street.
[00:06:00] The police showed up, and after circling the area,
[00:06:04] they said that they would stake out the house for a couple of hours,
[00:06:07] even though the men were probably gone.
[00:06:10] They never found either of the men that night,
[00:06:13] but the man with the video camera continued to find us.
[00:06:16] They were just over and over again.
[00:06:19] A couple of years later, my brother had a neighborhood kid over for a sleepover.
[00:06:24] The three of us hung out in his room until late at night,
[00:06:28] laughing loudly and shooting BB guns at the ceiling.
[00:06:32] And each other.
[00:06:34] I left the room, and when I came back,
[00:06:37] my brother told me that a hand had slapped the window and slid down,
[00:06:41] just like a horror movie.
[00:06:44] I thought that he was just trying to scare me,
[00:06:47] and I was in the middle of telling him he was full of shit
[00:06:50] when I saw that little red dot again.
[00:06:54] We all happened to catch it at the same time,
[00:06:57] and it silenced all of us instantly.
[00:07:00] We dropped to the floor at first,
[00:07:03] trying to remain calm and silent, unbreathing,
[00:07:06] and then my brother crawled over and turned off the light in the room.
[00:07:11] We stayed there for a long time until we decided to wake our parents up.
[00:07:16] When they took a look outside, they didn't find anything,
[00:07:20] so I passed it off as a prank.
[00:07:23] Another couple of years later,
[00:07:25] during an insomniac-induced all-nighter,
[00:07:28] I was sitting in our sunroom reading a book.
[00:07:30] It was about three in the morning,
[00:07:33] and the whole house was asleep.
[00:07:35] I had my headphones in listening to my MP3 player
[00:07:38] when I thought I heard a sound.
[00:07:40] It was a loud noise coming in over the music.
[00:07:44] I looked up, startled,
[00:07:46] and I saw a man at the door watching me
[00:07:49] at three in the morning.
[00:07:51] This instance was the closest I had ever been to him.
[00:07:56] I froze and stared at him.
[00:07:58] He was about six feet tall,
[00:08:00] his hair was long and wavy over his eyebrows.
[00:08:04] It kind of looked like he had bangs or a comb-over
[00:08:08] without enough gel.
[00:08:10] He was wearing a white hoodie
[00:08:13] and long blue pants that nearly covered his shoes.
[00:08:17] He had a blue digital camera in his hand,
[00:08:20] and he was holding it at his side.
[00:08:22] While maintaining eye contact,
[00:08:25] he walked away casually,
[00:08:27] without fear or haste.
[00:08:28] I followed him with my eyes past the window
[00:08:32] until he was out of my line of sight.
[00:08:34] Then I ran back inside the main house
[00:08:37] and didn't tell anyone.
[00:08:40] I passed it off as a sleep-deprived hallucination for months,
[00:08:44] denying the nightmares and the cold chills.
[00:08:47] And then I remembered something.
[00:08:50] The lock on the door to the sunroom to outside
[00:08:53] was broken.
[00:08:56] Sightings of this man continued to happen for years.
[00:09:00] It just became an odd fact of life
[00:09:02] that he seemed to be less interested as I got older.
[00:09:07] I'll always wonder
[00:09:08] what kinds of pictures and videos he captured.
[00:09:12] The whole thing
[00:09:13] just seems like an odd revenge
[00:09:15] for outrunning him years later.
[00:09:18] To the creepy cameraman,
[00:09:21] if you're somehow hearing this,
[00:09:23] you are the reason that I keep my blinds closed
[00:09:26] and can never own a house with a sunroom.
[00:09:29] Let's not meet.
[00:09:30] This is a true story from about 20 years ago.
[00:09:47] I was originally from the East Coast,
[00:09:50] but I had been living in the San Francisco Bay Area.
[00:09:54] My then-girlfriend was from California
[00:09:56] and I had never been truly camping,
[00:09:59] but she was used to it.
[00:10:01] So, I went with her a few times.
[00:10:03] This was our first time camping together.
[00:10:06] We decided to go to Big Sur
[00:10:08] and her young, five-year-old son came with us.
[00:10:12] The weather was cooler out there
[00:10:14] and it had been rainy,
[00:10:15] but on this night, in particular,
[00:10:18] it was misty and cold.
[00:10:20] We drove to one of those campsites
[00:10:22] that had a small parking lot,
[00:10:24] which was empty except for us.
[00:10:26] So, we set up the tent
[00:10:28] a little ways away from the car
[00:10:29] and proceeded to try and get a fire started.
[00:10:33] My girlfriend was frustrated
[00:10:35] since she had asked me to get the fire started,
[00:10:37] but I had no idea what to do.
[00:10:39] We eventually got it started,
[00:10:42] even though it was cold and wet.
[00:10:45] After we were done eating,
[00:10:47] the three of us crammed into a two-person tent.
[00:10:50] Neither she nor I were gun owners,
[00:10:52] but I had brought a small knife
[00:10:55] and a mini baseball bat just in case.
[00:10:57] I figured it would be good
[00:10:58] to have something to protect us
[00:11:00] since I wasn't sure
[00:11:01] what we would encounter out there
[00:11:03] and I wasn't comfortable camping.
[00:11:06] Sometime in the middle of the night,
[00:11:07] I was awoken by something
[00:11:09] walking slowly around the tent.
[00:11:11] I was so scared
[00:11:13] since I couldn't figure out
[00:11:14] if it was two- or four-legged.
[00:11:17] I couldn't hear any other sound
[00:11:19] except for what sounded like something
[00:11:21] trying not to sound too loud.
[00:11:25] This went on for about 10 to 15 minutes.
[00:11:28] I was terrified.
[00:11:30] I didn't move,
[00:11:31] but kept my hand on the bat next to me.
[00:11:33] I remember assuming that
[00:11:35] it was a bear or a mountain lion,
[00:11:38] which I had no experience in dealing with.
[00:11:42] It sounded like it started to walk away slowly
[00:11:45] and even after it was gone,
[00:11:47] I wasn't able to get too much sleep.
[00:11:51] At the first sign of sunlight,
[00:11:53] I slowly got out of the tent
[00:11:55] and sat on a park bench that was near us.
[00:11:58] After a while,
[00:12:00] I saw somebody walking through the woods towards me,
[00:12:03] which again scared me
[00:12:05] as we had seen no one since we got there.
[00:12:08] Eventually,
[00:12:09] I saw that it was a park ranger
[00:12:11] or a police officer,
[00:12:12] I don't remember which,
[00:12:14] and he seemed to have his hand
[00:12:16] hovering near his holster.
[00:12:18] I was wearing camo pants
[00:12:20] and I have a beard
[00:12:21] and look pretty scruffy in general.
[00:12:24] Plus,
[00:12:25] I was a bit worried
[00:12:26] since I had some weed on me
[00:12:28] and the knife and bat.
[00:12:30] The ranger or officer
[00:12:32] asked me for my name
[00:12:34] and what I was doing there.
[00:12:36] I explained that I was with my girlfriend
[00:12:38] and her son
[00:12:38] who were still in the tent.
[00:12:41] After checking my ID
[00:12:42] and seeing them,
[00:12:43] he told us
[00:12:44] that there had been reports of a guy
[00:12:46] going around
[00:12:47] and attacking campers in the area.
[00:12:49] He told us to be careful
[00:12:51] and think about leaving the area
[00:12:53] which we did
[00:12:54] because the weather sucked anyways.
[00:12:57] Since it had been raining,
[00:12:59] there were no footprints
[00:13:00] or any other signs
[00:13:02] indicating that he had walked around our tent.
[00:13:05] It was scary for me
[00:13:07] being more of a city guy
[00:13:08] and I was very hesitant
[00:13:10] about going camping
[00:13:11] after that.
[00:13:29] This happened exactly two years ago.
[00:13:31] I know this
[00:13:32] because of Facebook memories.
[00:13:35] I was living in a ground floor apartment
[00:13:37] in a very heavy foot trafficked area.
[00:13:40] It used to be a corner storefront
[00:13:42] so the living room windows were huge
[00:13:45] and only one small part
[00:13:47] of the windows could be opened.
[00:13:49] I had a very angry upstairs neighbor
[00:13:52] and even angrier dealers
[00:13:54] living across the street.
[00:13:57] I've had to make multiple calls
[00:13:59] to the police
[00:13:59] and give statements
[00:14:00] due to a few different incidents
[00:14:02] that occurred.
[00:14:04] Aside from them,
[00:14:05] the neighborhood was pretty lovely
[00:14:07] and I got along well
[00:14:08] with all of my sane neighbors.
[00:14:11] One of my cats
[00:14:12] even became
[00:14:13] a bit of a local celebrity
[00:14:15] thanks to a haunted Halloween tour
[00:14:17] that would stop at my corner
[00:14:19] every night
[00:14:20] to tell stories.
[00:14:21] The second my cat
[00:14:23] heard the tour outside,
[00:14:24] she sprinted from wherever she was
[00:14:26] to jump up
[00:14:27] on the open windowsill
[00:14:29] and listen
[00:14:29] while the crowd
[00:14:30] would coo at him.
[00:14:32] Anyway,
[00:14:33] because of the large windows,
[00:14:35] I didn't have any privacy
[00:14:36] in my living room.
[00:14:37] Usually,
[00:14:38] I didn't mind
[00:14:39] since I'm a people watcher
[00:14:41] and my cats loved the view.
[00:14:43] I had blinds
[00:14:44] and a sheer curtain
[00:14:45] but
[00:14:46] anyone who was outside
[00:14:48] could always still see
[00:14:49] straight into the apartment.
[00:14:52] Thankfully,
[00:14:52] I had plenty of privacy
[00:14:54] in the bathroom
[00:14:55] and bedroom.
[00:14:56] One night,
[00:14:57] I was sitting
[00:14:58] at my computer desk
[00:14:59] in the living room
[00:15:00] just watching YouTube
[00:15:01] and sipping a beer
[00:15:02] when I heard
[00:15:03] a group of people
[00:15:04] talking outside.
[00:15:06] It was normal
[00:15:07] to hear street noise
[00:15:08] due to the area
[00:15:09] and I honestly
[00:15:10] would have ignored it
[00:15:11] completely
[00:15:11] if I hadn't heard
[00:15:13] one of them speaking
[00:15:14] directly
[00:15:14] into the window fan
[00:15:16] in the open window.
[00:15:19] Oh,
[00:15:19] she's drinking a beer.
[00:15:21] Doesn't she usually
[00:15:22] drink whiskey?
[00:15:23] I heard.
[00:15:26] I spun around
[00:15:27] in my chair instantly
[00:15:28] and then heard,
[00:15:29] oh shit,
[00:15:30] she saw us
[00:15:30] followed by scuffling
[00:15:32] as they ran away.
[00:15:34] I couldn't see
[00:15:35] whoever it was
[00:15:36] that was out there
[00:15:37] because
[00:15:37] it was dark
[00:15:39] but it sounded
[00:15:40] like it was
[00:15:40] a little group
[00:15:41] of at least
[00:15:42] two women
[00:15:42] and two men.
[00:15:45] After that happened,
[00:15:47] I was frozen in place
[00:15:48] just listening
[00:15:49] for anything else.
[00:15:51] I was particularly
[00:15:52] listening out
[00:15:53] for footsteps
[00:15:54] or their voices
[00:15:55] again.
[00:15:56] As I listened out,
[00:15:58] I pondered
[00:15:59] what I had just heard.
[00:16:01] Now,
[00:16:02] while I do typically
[00:16:03] prefer to sip on whiskey
[00:16:04] at night,
[00:16:05] that day
[00:16:06] I wanted to try
[00:16:07] a new beer
[00:16:07] that I saw
[00:16:08] at the store.
[00:16:09] These people
[00:16:10] knew my habits
[00:16:11] well enough
[00:16:11] to know that
[00:16:12] drinking a beer
[00:16:13] is slightly
[00:16:14] out of the ordinary
[00:16:15] for me.
[00:16:16] I was also
[00:16:17] deeply concerned
[00:16:18] that they knew
[00:16:18] it was whiskey
[00:16:19] since I would drink
[00:16:20] out of a set
[00:16:21] of patterned glasses
[00:16:22] and there was no way
[00:16:24] to tell what was in them.
[00:16:26] The kitchen
[00:16:27] could be seen
[00:16:28] from the living room windows.
[00:16:29] I often kept my whiskey
[00:16:30] in the freezer.
[00:16:32] They would have to see me
[00:16:34] at specific moments
[00:16:35] when I was pouring
[00:16:36] myself a glass
[00:16:37] to know what I was drinking.
[00:16:39] Needless to say,
[00:16:41] I didn't sleep that night
[00:16:42] and as I lay
[00:16:43] in bed awake,
[00:16:44] I remembered
[00:16:45] another incident
[00:16:46] that happened
[00:16:46] a few nights prior.
[00:16:48] I keep my bedroom
[00:16:49] window open at night
[00:16:50] because I sleep
[00:16:51] right under it
[00:16:52] and I like to feel
[00:16:53] the breeze at night.
[00:16:56] There's a bright
[00:16:57] security light
[00:16:58] directly across
[00:16:59] the street
[00:16:59] so even with
[00:17:01] the blinds down,
[00:17:02] I still have quite
[00:17:02] a bit of light
[00:17:03] hitting the opposite wall.
[00:17:05] One night,
[00:17:06] I woke up
[00:17:06] at around 3 or 4 a.m.,
[00:17:08] which isn't
[00:17:09] unusual for me.
[00:17:11] I turned on Netflix
[00:17:12] and watched a movie
[00:17:14] then fell back
[00:17:15] and I fell back
[00:17:15] to sleep.
[00:17:16] As I lay in bed,
[00:17:17] I saw the shadow
[00:17:19] of a head
[00:17:20] and shoulders
[00:17:20] appear on the wall
[00:17:22] and it stayed there
[00:17:23] for a long while.
[00:17:26] It was there
[00:17:27] for about 15-20 minutes.
[00:17:30] Now,
[00:17:30] this isn't very uncommon.
[00:17:32] People have stopped
[00:17:32] to smoke a cigarette
[00:17:33] right outside
[00:17:34] my window before.
[00:17:35] The smell gives me
[00:17:36] an instant headache
[00:17:37] but this time
[00:17:39] there was no smoke
[00:17:40] or smell
[00:17:41] of any kind.
[00:17:41] It was just
[00:17:43] somebody standing there.
[00:17:45] I couldn't tell
[00:17:46] which way
[00:17:47] they were facing
[00:17:48] but after overhearing
[00:17:50] the people
[00:17:50] who were watching
[00:17:51] me outside,
[00:17:52] I wondered
[00:17:53] if someone
[00:17:53] was looking in
[00:17:54] while they thought
[00:17:55] I was sleeping.
[00:17:56] I told my coworkers
[00:17:58] about both incidents
[00:17:59] and they were terrified
[00:18:01] for me.
[00:18:02] I was planning
[00:18:03] on moving
[00:18:03] at the end
[00:18:04] of that month
[00:18:04] and I was slowly
[00:18:05] bringing boxes
[00:18:06] and furniture
[00:18:07] over to my new place
[00:18:08] over the course
[00:18:09] of the month.
[00:18:11] Once my coworkers
[00:18:12] heard about what happened,
[00:18:14] they all came together
[00:18:15] and helped me
[00:18:15] get most of my things
[00:18:17] over to my new place
[00:18:18] in one day.
[00:18:19] I told them
[00:18:20] all I cared about
[00:18:21] was my animals
[00:18:23] and my bed
[00:18:24] so they got everything
[00:18:25] out of there
[00:18:26] except for the larger furniture
[00:18:27] and whatever
[00:18:28] couldn't be boxed up.
[00:18:30] I loved them all
[00:18:31] and appreciate them
[00:18:32] for this.
[00:18:33] I had a couple
[00:18:34] of anxiety attacks
[00:18:35] over this
[00:18:36] especially when
[00:18:37] I had to go back
[00:18:38] for the last
[00:18:38] of my stuff
[00:18:39] but thankfully
[00:18:40] I felt completely
[00:18:41] safe in my new place.
[00:18:43] I also got
[00:18:44] a full-blown
[00:18:45] security system
[00:18:46] with sensors
[00:18:46] and cameras
[00:18:47] and everything.
[00:18:58] This encounter
[00:18:59] happened to my mother
[00:19:01] in 1987.
[00:19:03] She had just
[00:19:04] started her career
[00:19:05] as a high school teacher
[00:19:06] in a fairly large
[00:19:08] developing city
[00:19:09] and she loved it.
[00:19:11] She was newly
[00:19:12] assigned to work
[00:19:13] at this particular school.
[00:19:14] It was far
[00:19:16] from her hometown
[00:19:17] but she was
[00:19:18] willing to relocate
[00:19:19] since this also
[00:19:20] meant she would
[00:19:21] be closer
[00:19:21] to her aging parents.
[00:19:23] At that time
[00:19:24] the main way
[00:19:25] to relocate
[00:19:26] was to post
[00:19:27] a small announcement
[00:19:28] in a professional
[00:19:29] journal
[00:19:29] offering to trade
[00:19:31] her teaching location
[00:19:32] with someone
[00:19:33] assigned to her
[00:19:34] hometown.
[00:19:35] Among the various
[00:19:37] creeps who answered
[00:19:38] her ad with
[00:19:39] love letters
[00:19:40] one stood
[00:19:41] above the rest.
[00:19:42] this guy showed
[00:19:44] up to her high
[00:19:44] school one day
[00:19:45] in an attempt
[00:19:46] to meet her.
[00:19:47] When the school
[00:19:48] custodian told him
[00:19:49] that she had just
[00:19:50] left on the bus
[00:19:51] with the co-worker
[00:19:51] he decided to
[00:19:53] follow this bus
[00:19:54] in his own car.
[00:19:56] He failed to
[00:19:57] track the bus
[00:19:58] closely enough
[00:19:59] and she got off
[00:20:00] the bus at some
[00:20:01] point without him
[00:20:02] realizing it.
[00:20:03] The next day
[00:20:04] he went back
[00:20:05] to school
[00:20:06] and was able
[00:20:07] to meet her
[00:20:07] face to face
[00:20:08] and exchange
[00:20:09] a few words
[00:20:09] with her.
[00:20:11] The man
[00:20:11] had never
[00:20:12] met her
[00:20:12] before that
[00:20:13] moment
[00:20:13] but he told
[00:20:14] her that
[00:20:15] he was in
[00:20:15] love with
[00:20:16] her
[00:20:16] and was
[00:20:16] willing
[00:20:17] to marry
[00:20:17] her.
[00:20:18] She brushed
[00:20:19] it off
[00:20:19] and said
[00:20:20] that they
[00:20:20] didn't know
[00:20:21] each other
[00:20:21] and that
[00:20:22] she wanted
[00:20:22] to focus
[00:20:23] on her
[00:20:23] career
[00:20:24] before
[00:20:24] settling
[00:20:24] down.
[00:20:25] He was
[00:20:26] a cop
[00:20:26] and he
[00:20:27] let her
[00:20:27] know that
[00:20:28] he already
[00:20:28] knew
[00:20:29] her address
[00:20:30] the names
[00:20:30] of her
[00:20:31] parents
[00:20:31] and their
[00:20:32] addresses.
[00:20:34] Basically
[00:20:34] he ran
[00:20:35] a background
[00:20:36] check on
[00:20:36] her.
[00:20:37] She was
[00:20:38] understandably
[00:20:39] creeped out
[00:20:40] so she
[00:20:41] pretended
[00:20:41] that she
[00:20:41] was in
[00:20:42] a big
[00:20:42] hurry
[00:20:42] and left.
[00:20:44] A few
[00:20:45] weeks later
[00:20:45] she was
[00:20:46] visiting her
[00:20:46] parents
[00:20:46] in her
[00:20:47] hometown.
[00:20:48] The
[00:20:48] mailman
[00:20:49] delivered
[00:20:49] a heavy
[00:20:50] package
[00:20:50] at her
[00:20:51] parents
[00:20:51] house.
[00:20:52] The guy
[00:20:53] had sent
[00:20:53] her various
[00:20:54] issues
[00:20:54] of cop
[00:20:55] magazines
[00:20:56] in which
[00:20:57] he had
[00:20:57] written
[00:20:58] a few
[00:20:58] op-eds.
[00:21:00] He
[00:21:01] attached
[00:21:01] a letter
[00:21:02] explaining
[00:21:02] that she
[00:21:03] could get
[00:21:03] to know
[00:21:04] him better
[00:21:04] through
[00:21:04] these
[00:21:05] and asked
[00:21:06] her to
[00:21:06] write him
[00:21:07] back.
[00:21:08] She
[00:21:08] never
[00:21:08] did
[00:21:09] and
[00:21:09] she
[00:21:09] freaked
[00:21:10] out
[00:21:10] for
[00:21:10] a few
[00:21:10] weeks
[00:21:11] because
[00:21:11] the guy
[00:21:12] kept
[00:21:12] sending
[00:21:12] her
[00:21:13] letters
[00:21:13] but
[00:21:14] he
[00:21:14] eventually
[00:21:14] stopped.
[00:21:16] She
[00:21:16] told me
[00:21:17] that even
[00:21:18] though she
[00:21:18] didn't feel
[00:21:19] that her
[00:21:19] life was
[00:21:20] threatened
[00:21:20] she was
[00:21:21] still anxious
[00:21:22] about going
[00:21:22] back to her
[00:21:23] job for a
[00:21:24] few weeks
[00:21:24] after that
[00:21:25] especially
[00:21:26] since she
[00:21:26] never
[00:21:27] relocated
[00:21:27] as her
[00:21:28] only ad
[00:21:29] seemed
[00:21:30] to attract
[00:21:30] creeps.
[00:21:32] She
[00:21:32] met my
[00:21:32] father a
[00:21:33] few years
[00:21:33] later
[00:21:34] so I
[00:21:35] guess
[00:21:35] there's
[00:21:36] still
[00:21:36] a
[00:21:36] happy
[00:21:37] ending
[00:21:37] here.
[00:21:56] This
[00:21:57] encounter
[00:21:57] happened
[00:21:58] in the
[00:21:58] summer
[00:21:58] of
[00:21:58] 2006
[00:21:59] when I
[00:22:00] was
[00:22:00] 20
[00:22:00] years
[00:22:01] old.
[00:22:02] I
[00:22:02] looked
[00:22:02] young
[00:22:03] for my
[00:22:03] age
[00:22:04] and was
[00:22:04] often
[00:22:04] mistaken
[00:22:05] for
[00:22:05] a
[00:22:05] high
[00:22:06] school
[00:22:06] student
[00:22:07] all
[00:22:07] throughout
[00:22:07] my
[00:22:08] 20s.
[00:22:09] I
[00:22:09] didn't
[00:22:09] get
[00:22:10] my
[00:22:10] driver's
[00:22:10] license
[00:22:11] until
[00:22:11] around
[00:22:11] January
[00:22:12] of that
[00:22:13] year
[00:22:13] and
[00:22:14] driving
[00:22:14] opened
[00:22:15] so many
[00:22:15] doors
[00:22:15] for me.
[00:22:16] I
[00:22:17] took
[00:22:17] a lot
[00:22:17] of
[00:22:17] solo
[00:22:18] road
[00:22:18] trips
[00:22:18] to
[00:22:19] go see
[00:22:19] my
[00:22:19] friends
[00:22:20] in
[00:22:20] nearby
[00:22:21] New
[00:22:22] Atlantic
[00:22:22] States.
[00:22:24] I
[00:22:24] was
[00:22:25] driving
[00:22:25] alone
[00:22:25] on
[00:22:25] I-78
[00:22:26] on a
[00:22:27] random
[00:22:27] July
[00:22:28] day
[00:22:28] on my
[00:22:29] way
[00:22:29] to
[00:22:29] visit
[00:22:29] my
[00:22:30] friend
[00:22:30] in
[00:22:30] southern
[00:22:31] Pennsylvania
[00:22:31] for a
[00:22:32] long
[00:22:32] weekend.
[00:22:33] I
[00:22:33] had a
[00:22:34] great
[00:22:34] drive,
[00:22:35] listened
[00:22:35] to
[00:22:35] some
[00:22:35] good
[00:22:36] music
[00:22:36] and
[00:22:37] it
[00:22:37] was
[00:22:37] a
[00:22:37] beautiful
[00:22:37] day.
[00:22:38] I
[00:22:39] was
[00:22:39] so
[00:22:39] excited
[00:22:40] for
[00:22:40] this
[00:22:40] weekend
[00:22:40] trip.
[00:22:41] Her
[00:22:42] parents
[00:22:42] were
[00:22:43] away
[00:22:43] and
[00:22:43] we
[00:22:43] had
[00:22:44] the
[00:22:44] house
[00:22:44] to
[00:22:44] ourselves.
[00:22:45] We
[00:22:45] were
[00:22:45] planning
[00:22:46] on
[00:22:46] drinking,
[00:22:47] getting
[00:22:47] in
[00:22:47] the
[00:22:47] hot
[00:22:47] tub
[00:22:48] and
[00:22:48] watching
[00:22:48] planet
[00:22:49] earth
[00:22:49] since
[00:22:50] that
[00:22:50] had
[00:22:50] just
[00:22:50] come
[00:22:51] out.
[00:22:52] We
[00:22:52] also
[00:22:52] planned
[00:22:53] on
[00:22:53] possibly
[00:22:53] running
[00:22:54] around
[00:22:54] some
[00:22:54] cornfields
[00:22:55] at
[00:22:55] night.
[00:22:56] Right
[00:22:57] after I
[00:22:57] crossed
[00:22:58] the border
[00:22:58] from
[00:22:58] New
[00:22:59] Jersey
[00:22:59] to
[00:22:59] Pennsylvania,
[00:23:00] I
[00:23:00] stopped
[00:23:01] at one
[00:23:01] of the
[00:23:01] first
[00:23:02] rest
[00:23:02] stops
[00:23:02] to get
[00:23:03] gas
[00:23:03] and
[00:23:03] snacks
[00:23:04] for the
[00:23:04] last
[00:23:05] part
[00:23:05] of my
[00:23:05] drive.
[00:23:06] Opposite
[00:23:07] the
[00:23:07] gas
[00:23:07] station
[00:23:08] was the
[00:23:08] on-ramp
[00:23:09] to get
[00:23:09] back
[00:23:18] to
[00:23:18] the
[00:23:18] store
[00:23:19] when
[00:23:19] a
[00:23:19] man
[00:23:20] in
[00:23:20] his
[00:23:20] late
[00:23:20] thirties
[00:23:21] or
[00:23:21] possibly
[00:23:21] early
[00:23:22] forties
[00:23:22] approached
[00:23:23] me.
[00:23:24] He
[00:23:24] was a
[00:23:24] stocky
[00:23:25] guy
[00:23:25] who
[00:23:26] was
[00:23:26] decently
[00:23:26] tall,
[00:23:27] to
[00:23:27] me
[00:23:27] anyway,
[00:23:28] I'm
[00:23:29] 5'1".
[00:23:30] He
[00:23:30] had
[00:23:31] dark
[00:23:31] brown
[00:23:31] hair
[00:23:32] and
[00:23:32] a
[00:23:32] mustache
[00:23:32] and
[00:23:33] goatee.
[00:23:34] He
[00:23:35] was
[00:23:35] wearing
[00:23:35] a
[00:23:35] plain
[00:23:36] black
[00:23:36] t-shirt
[00:23:36] and
[00:23:37] jeans.
[00:23:37] He
[00:23:38] had
[00:23:38] just
[00:23:38] gotten
[00:23:38] out of
[00:23:39] a
[00:23:39] black
[00:23:39] pickup
[00:23:39] truck
[00:23:40] parked
[00:23:40] a
[00:23:41] few
[00:23:41] spaces
[00:23:41] away
[00:23:41] from
[00:23:42] my
[00:23:42] car.
[00:23:43] He
[00:23:48] had
[00:23:48] a
[00:23:48] different
[00:23:49] energy
[00:23:49] about
[00:23:49] him,
[00:23:50] which
[00:23:50] was
[00:23:50] strange
[00:23:51] for
[00:23:51] me
[00:23:51] to
[00:23:51] pick
[00:23:52] up
[00:23:52] on
[00:23:52] as
[00:23:52] I
[00:23:52] don't
[00:23:53] really
[00:23:53] get
[00:23:53] vibes
[00:23:54] from
[00:23:54] people
[00:23:54] like
[00:23:55] that
[00:23:55] all
[00:23:56] too
[00:23:56] often.
[00:23:57] He
[00:23:58] was
[00:23:58] standing
[00:23:58] too
[00:23:59] close,
[00:23:59] his
[00:24:00] gaze
[00:24:00] was
[00:24:00] fixated
[00:24:01] on
[00:24:01] me,
[00:24:01] and
[00:24:01] his
[00:24:02] choice
[00:24:02] of
[00:24:02] words
[00:24:03] was
[00:24:03] odd.
[00:24:04] He
[00:24:05] instantly
[00:24:05] set
[00:24:05] off
[00:24:05] alarm
[00:24:06] bells.
[00:24:08] Despite
[00:24:08] my
[00:24:09] Connecticut
[00:24:09] license
[00:24:10] plate,
[00:24:10] he
[00:24:11] asked
[00:24:11] if I
[00:24:11] was
[00:24:12] from
[00:24:12] the
[00:24:12] area.
[00:24:13] He
[00:24:13] also
[00:24:13] asked
[00:24:14] where
[00:24:14] I
[00:24:14] was
[00:24:18] later
[00:24:18] and
[00:24:19] wanted
[00:24:19] to
[00:24:20] kill
[00:24:20] time
[00:24:20] beforehand.
[00:24:21] He
[00:24:22] invited
[00:24:22] me
[00:24:23] to
[00:24:23] go
[00:24:23] play
[00:24:23] mini
[00:24:23] golf
[00:24:24] or
[00:24:24] watch
[00:24:24] a
[00:24:24] movie
[00:24:25] with
[00:24:25] him.
[00:24:26] I
[00:24:26] didn't
[00:24:26] answer
[00:24:27] any
[00:24:27] of
[00:24:28] his
[00:24:28] questions,
[00:24:29] declined
[00:24:29] his
[00:24:30] invitation
[00:24:30] to
[00:24:30] hang
[00:24:31] out,
[00:24:31] and
[00:24:32] I
[00:24:32] told
[00:24:32] him
[00:24:32] that
[00:24:32] I
[00:24:33] didn't
[00:24:33] know
[00:24:33] the
[00:24:33] area
[00:24:34] well
[00:24:34] before
[00:24:35] walking
[00:24:35] away
[00:24:36] toward
[00:24:36] the
[00:24:36] store.
[00:24:37] I
[00:24:38] was
[00:24:38] blown
[00:24:38] away
[00:24:39] that
[00:24:39] he
[00:24:39] asked
[00:24:39] me
[00:24:39] to
[00:24:40] go
[00:24:40] somewhere
[00:24:40] with
[00:24:41] him.
[00:24:41] It
[00:24:41] was
[00:24:41] so
[00:24:42] random
[00:24:42] and
[00:24:42] uncomfortable.
[00:24:44] As
[00:24:44] I
[00:24:45] was
[00:24:45] walking
[00:24:45] away
[00:24:45] he
[00:24:46] yelled
[00:24:46] you're
[00:24:47] gorgeous
[00:24:47] at
[00:24:49] a
[00:24:49] volume
[00:24:49] and
[00:24:49] tone
[00:24:50] that
[00:24:50] made
[00:24:51] my
[00:24:51] hair
[00:24:51] stand
[00:24:51] on
[00:24:52] end.
[00:24:53] It
[00:24:53] was
[00:24:54] very
[00:24:54] inappropriate
[00:24:54] and
[00:24:55] aggressive
[00:24:55] enough
[00:24:56] to
[00:24:56] startle
[00:24:57] a
[00:24:57] family
[00:24:57] walking
[00:24:58] out
[00:24:58] of
[00:24:58] the
[00:24:58] store.
[00:24:59] I
[00:25:00] didn't
[00:25:00] turn
[00:25:00] around
[00:25:01] and
[00:25:01] proceeded
[00:25:01] to
[00:25:02] go
[00:25:02] inside.
[00:25:03] He
[00:25:04] came
[00:25:04] into
[00:25:04] the
[00:25:04] store
[00:25:05] shortly
[00:25:05] after
[00:25:05] I
[00:25:06] went
[00:25:06] in.
[00:25:07] He
[00:25:07] was
[00:25:11] in
[00:25:16] the
[00:25:16] store
[00:25:18] anymore.
[00:25:19] So
[00:25:20] I
[00:25:20] took
[00:25:20] my
[00:25:21] time
[00:25:21] buying
[00:25:21] drinks
[00:25:22] and
[00:25:22] snacks
[00:25:23] sour
[00:25:24] bite
[00:25:24] crawlers
[00:25:24] and
[00:25:25] trail
[00:25:25] mix
[00:25:25] to
[00:25:25] be
[00:25:26] specific.
[00:25:27] I
[00:25:27] then
[00:25:28] went
[00:25:28] out
[00:25:28] to
[00:25:28] gas
[00:25:28] up
[00:25:29] my
[00:25:29] car.
[00:25:30] I
[00:25:30] was
[00:25:30] relieved
[00:25:31] to
[00:25:31] see
[00:25:31] that
[00:25:31] his
[00:25:32] car
[00:25:32] was
[00:25:32] gone
[00:25:32] and
[00:25:33] started
[00:25:33] thinking
[00:25:33] about
[00:25:34] the
[00:25:34] rest
[00:25:34] of
[00:25:34] my
[00:25:34] drive.
[00:25:38] I
[00:25:40] on
[00:25:40] the
[00:25:41] highway
[00:25:41] I
[00:25:42] heard
[00:25:42] someone
[00:25:42] persistently
[00:25:43] honking
[00:25:44] a
[00:25:44] horn.
[00:25:45] I
[00:25:45] looked
[00:25:45] around
[00:25:46] and
[00:25:46] saw
[00:25:46] that
[00:25:47] this
[00:25:47] creep
[00:25:47] show
[00:25:48] was
[00:25:48] now
[00:25:49] on
[00:25:49] the
[00:25:49] dirt
[00:25:49] road
[00:25:49] that
[00:25:50] I
[00:25:50] had
[00:25:50] mentioned
[00:25:50] before.
[00:25:51] He
[00:25:52] was
[00:25:52] parallel
[00:25:52] to
[00:25:52] the
[00:25:53] on
[00:25:53] ramp
[00:25:53] honking
[00:25:54] and
[00:25:54] shouting
[00:25:54] and
[00:25:55] waving
[00:25:56] at
[00:25:56] me
[00:25:56] to
[00:25:56] drive
[00:25:57] over
[00:25:57] to
[00:25:57] him.
[00:25:58] He
[00:25:59] was
[00:25:59] directly
[00:25:59] facing
[00:26:00] the
[00:26:00] gas
[00:26:00] station
[00:26:01] and
[00:26:01] had
[00:26:01] been
[00:26:01] waiting
[00:26:02] for
[00:26:02] me
[00:26:02] to
[00:26:02] pull
[00:26:02] up.
[00:26:04] I
[00:26:04] immediately
[00:26:05] freaked
[00:26:05] out
[00:26:05] and
[00:26:10] pulled
[00:26:11] onto
[00:26:11] the
[00:26:11] highway
[00:26:12] after
[00:26:12] me
[00:26:12] and
[00:26:13] I
[00:26:13] was
[00:26:13] scared
[00:26:14] so
[00:26:14] I
[00:26:14] called
[00:26:14] my
[00:26:14] friend.
[00:26:15] I
[00:26:16] was
[00:26:16] driving
[00:26:16] so
[00:26:16] fast
[00:26:17] probably
[00:26:17] at
[00:26:18] dangerous
[00:26:18] speeds
[00:26:19] and
[00:26:19] looking
[00:26:19] back
[00:26:20] I
[00:26:20] realize
[00:26:21] I'm
[00:26:22] lucky
[00:26:22] that
[00:26:22] I
[00:26:23] didn't
[00:26:23] get
[00:26:23] into
[00:26:23] an
[00:26:23] accident
[00:26:24] but
[00:26:25] I
[00:26:25] didn't
[00:26:25] know
[00:26:25] what
[00:26:25] to
[00:26:25] do.
[00:26:27] Thankfully
[00:26:27] he
[00:26:28] didn't
[00:26:28] follow
[00:26:28] me
[00:26:29] for
[00:26:29] long
[00:26:29] and
[00:26:29] after
[00:26:30] a
[00:26:30] few
[00:26:30] exits
[00:26:30] he
[00:26:31] pulled
[00:26:31] off.
[00:26:32] My
[00:26:33] friend
[00:26:33] and
[00:26:33] I
[00:26:33] formed
[00:26:34] a
[00:26:34] backup
[00:26:34] plan
[00:26:34] in
[00:26:35] case
[00:26:35] I
[00:26:35] saw
[00:26:35] his
[00:26:35] car
[00:26:36] again.
[00:26:36] She
[00:26:37] was
[00:26:37] planning
[00:26:37] to
[00:26:38] direct
[00:26:38] me
[00:26:38] to
[00:26:38] a
[00:26:38] police
[00:26:39] station
[00:26:39] but
[00:26:40] that
[00:26:40] ended
[00:26:40] up
[00:26:41] not
[00:26:41] happening
[00:26:41] and
[00:26:42] I
[00:26:42] got
[00:26:42] to
[00:26:42] my
[00:26:42] friend's
[00:26:43] house
[00:26:43] safe
[00:26:44] and
[00:26:44] sound.
[00:26:45] The
[00:26:46] last
[00:26:46] few
[00:26:46] hours
[00:26:47] of
[00:26:47] my
[00:26:47] drive
[00:26:47] were
[00:26:47] extremely
[00:26:48] tense
[00:26:48] and
[00:26:49] anxiety
[00:26:49] filled.
[00:26:50] I
[00:26:51] remember
[00:26:51] checking
[00:26:52] my
[00:26:52] mirrors
[00:26:52] regularly
[00:26:53] for him
[00:26:53] and
[00:26:54] his
[00:26:54] black
[00:26:54] pickup
[00:26:55] truck.
[00:26:56] I'm
[00:26:56] grateful
[00:26:57] that
[00:26:57] it
[00:26:57] ended
[00:26:58] well
[00:26:58] and
[00:26:59] I
[00:26:59] had
[00:26:59] a
[00:26:59] nice
[00:27:00] weekend
[00:27:00] with
[00:27:00] my
[00:27:00] friend.
[00:27:02] The
[00:27:02] encounter
[00:27:03] was
[00:27:03] definitely
[00:27:03] creepy
[00:27:04] but
[00:27:04] over
[00:27:04] the
[00:27:05] years
[00:27:05] I
[00:27:06] never
[00:27:06] put
[00:27:06] too
[00:27:06] much
[00:27:06] thought
[00:27:07] into
[00:27:07] it.
[00:27:08] That
[00:27:08] is
[00:27:08] until
[00:27:08] a
[00:27:09] few
[00:27:09] years
[00:27:09] ago
[00:27:09] when
[00:27:10] I
[00:27:30] met
[00:27:31] back
[00:27:31] in
[00:27:32] 2006.
[00:27:33] It
[00:27:34] was
[00:27:34] a
[00:27:34] chilling
[00:27:34] and
[00:27:35] odd
[00:27:36] coincidence
[00:27:36] that
[00:27:37] I've
[00:27:37] never
[00:27:38] forgotten.
[00:27:51] I've
[00:27:52] been
[00:27:52] doing
[00:27:52] my
[00:27:52] one
[00:27:53] hour
[00:27:53] of
[00:27:53] outdoor
[00:27:54] exercise
[00:27:54] at
[00:27:54] night
[00:27:55] since
[00:27:55] that's
[00:27:56] when
[00:27:56] I
[00:27:56] find
[00:27:57] it
[00:27:57] most
[00:27:57] relaxing.
[00:27:58] My
[00:27:59] neighborhood
[00:27:59] is very
[00:28:00] quiet
[00:28:00] and
[00:28:01] I'm
[00:28:01] lucky
[00:28:01] to
[00:28:01] live
[00:28:01] in
[00:28:02] a
[00:28:02] nice
[00:28:02] area
[00:28:02] that
[00:28:03] I've
[00:28:03] always
[00:28:03] considered
[00:28:04] to
[00:28:04] be
[00:28:04] safe.
[00:28:05] I
[00:28:05] used
[00:28:05] to
[00:28:06] walk
[00:28:06] at
[00:28:06] night
[00:28:07] even
[00:28:07] before
[00:28:08] lockdown
[00:28:08] because
[00:28:09] I
[00:28:09] live
[00:28:09] right
[00:28:09] next
[00:28:10] to
[00:28:10] a
[00:28:10] canal
[00:28:10] that
[00:28:11] has
[00:28:11] a
[00:28:11] lot
[00:28:11] of
[00:28:11] nice
[00:28:12] paths.
[00:28:13] These
[00:28:13] paths
[00:28:14] are
[00:28:14] even
[00:28:15] prettier
[00:28:15] to
[00:28:15] walk
[00:28:16] around
[00:28:16] on
[00:28:16] at
[00:28:17] night
[00:28:17] when
[00:28:18] everything
[00:28:18] is
[00:28:18] lit
[00:28:19] up
[00:28:19] by
[00:28:19] the
[00:28:19] moon.
[00:28:20] This
[00:28:21] happened
[00:28:21] about
[00:28:21] four
[00:28:22] years
[00:28:22] ago
[00:28:22] when
[00:28:23] I
[00:28:23] was
[00:28:23] on
[00:28:23] one
[00:28:23] of
[00:28:23] these
[00:28:23] walks.
[00:28:24] I
[00:28:25] decided
[00:28:25] to
[00:28:25] go
[00:28:25] to
[00:28:25] a
[00:28:26] shop
[00:28:26] in
[00:28:26] my
[00:28:26] neighborhood
[00:28:27] first
[00:28:27] because
[00:28:28] I
[00:28:28] was
[00:28:28] hungry.
[00:28:29] After
[00:28:30] that
[00:28:30] I
[00:28:30] planned
[00:28:31] a
[00:28:31] detour
[00:28:31] back
[00:28:31] to
[00:28:32] my
[00:28:32] usual
[00:28:32] route
[00:28:32] along
[00:28:33] the
[00:28:33] canal.
[00:28:34] As
[00:28:35] I
[00:28:35] was
[00:28:35] walking
[00:28:35] I
[00:28:35] heard
[00:28:36] two
[00:28:36] guys
[00:28:36] behind
[00:28:36] me
[00:28:37] speaking
[00:28:37] very
[00:28:38] loudly
[00:28:38] in
[00:28:39] German.
[00:28:40] I
[00:28:40] live
[00:28:40] in
[00:28:40] England
[00:28:41] so
[00:28:41] it
[00:28:42] was
[00:28:42] a
[00:28:42] bit
[00:28:42] unusual
[00:28:43] but
[00:28:43] I
[00:28:43] didn't
[00:28:43] think
[00:28:44] twice
[00:28:44] about
[00:28:44] it.
[00:28:45] They
[00:28:46] looked
[00:28:46] to be
[00:28:46] around
[00:28:47] thirty.
[00:28:48] They
[00:28:48] were
[00:28:48] pretty
[00:28:49] tall
[00:28:49] had
[00:28:50] caps
[00:28:50] on
[00:28:50] which
[00:28:51] I
[00:28:51] remember
[00:28:51] because
[00:28:52] they
[00:28:52] were
[00:28:52] wearing
[00:28:52] matching
[00:28:53] designs.
[00:28:54] I
[00:28:54] thought
[00:28:54] it
[00:28:54] was
[00:28:54] funny.
[00:28:56] They
[00:28:56] were
[00:28:56] starting
[00:28:57] to
[00:28:57] get
[00:28:57] close
[00:28:57] and
[00:28:58] when
[00:28:58] I
[00:28:58] glanced
[00:29:02] they
[00:29:03] were
[00:29:03] looking
[00:29:03] at
[00:29:04] me.
[00:29:04] This
[00:29:05] freaked
[00:29:05] me
[00:29:05] out.
[00:29:07] I
[00:29:07] sped
[00:29:07] walk
[00:29:08] towards
[00:29:08] the
[00:29:08] shop
[00:29:09] but
[00:29:09] I
[00:29:09] had
[00:29:09] to
[00:29:10] stop
[00:29:10] on
[00:29:10] the
[00:29:10] road
[00:29:11] as
[00:29:11] I
[00:29:11] wasn't
[00:29:11] planning
[00:29:12] on
[00:29:12] getting
[00:29:12] hit
[00:29:13] by
[00:29:13] a
[00:29:13] car.
[00:29:14] They
[00:29:14] caught
[00:29:15] up
[00:29:15] with
[00:29:15] me
[00:29:15] but
[00:29:16] didn't
[00:29:16] stop
[00:29:16] to
[00:29:17] wait
[00:29:17] for
[00:29:17] the
[00:29:17] light
[00:29:17] to
[00:29:18] change.
[00:29:19] They
[00:29:19] crossed
[00:29:20] the
[00:29:20] street
[00:29:20] and
[00:29:20] went
[00:29:20] into
[00:29:21] the
[00:29:21] store
[00:29:21] that
[00:29:21] I
[00:29:22] was
[00:29:22] headed
[00:29:22] for.
[00:29:23] I
[00:29:24] didn't
[00:29:24] want
[00:29:24] to
[00:29:24] follow
[00:29:25] them
[00:29:25] so
[00:29:26] I
[00:29:26] shrugged
[00:29:26] off
[00:29:26] my
[00:29:27] hunger
[00:29:27] and
[00:29:27] decided
[00:29:28] to
[00:29:28] go
[00:29:28] to
[00:29:28] the
[00:29:28] canal
[00:29:29] for
[00:29:29] my
[00:29:29] walk.
[00:29:31] I
[00:29:31] stopped
[00:29:31] thinking
[00:29:32] about
[00:29:32] the
[00:29:32] men
[00:29:33] soon
[00:29:33] after
[00:29:33] chalking
[00:29:34] it
[00:29:34] up
[00:29:35] to
[00:29:35] me
[00:29:35] being
[00:29:36] generally
[00:29:36] anxious
[00:29:37] but
[00:29:38] after
[00:29:39] that
[00:29:39] I
[00:29:40] was
[00:29:40] able
[00:29:40] to
[00:29:40] complete
[00:29:41] my
[00:29:41] walk
[00:29:41] and
[00:29:41] I
[00:29:42] headed
[00:29:42] back
[00:29:42] home.
[00:29:44] For
[00:29:44] the
[00:29:44] encounter
[00:29:45] to
[00:29:45] make
[00:29:45] sense
[00:29:45] I
[00:29:46] have
[00:29:46] to
[00:29:46] describe
[00:29:46] where
[00:29:46] I
[00:29:47] was
[00:29:47] on
[00:29:48] my
[00:29:48] right
[00:29:48] was
[00:29:48] the
[00:29:48] canal.
[00:29:49] I
[00:29:49] was
[00:29:49] standing
[00:29:50] on
[00:29:50] the
[00:29:50] path
[00:29:50] and
[00:29:51] to
[00:29:56] next
[00:29:57] to
[00:29:57] that
[00:29:57] road
[00:29:57] there
[00:29:58] were
[00:29:58] a
[00:29:58] few
[00:29:58] rows
[00:29:59] of
[00:29:59] houses
[00:29:59] then
[00:30:00] right
[00:30:00] in
[00:30:00] front
[00:30:00] of
[00:30:01] me
[00:30:01] was
[00:30:01] the
[00:30:01] railway
[00:30:02] bridge.
[00:30:03] I
[00:30:03] had
[00:30:04] my
[00:30:04] earphones
[00:30:04] in
[00:30:05] and
[00:30:05] my
[00:30:05] music
[00:30:05] was
[00:30:05] pretty
[00:30:06] loud
[00:30:06] but
[00:30:06] I
[00:30:06] thought
[00:30:07] I
[00:30:07] heard
[00:30:07] somebody
[00:30:08] shouting
[00:30:08] so
[00:30:09] I
[00:30:09] took
[00:30:09] one
[00:30:10] earphone
[00:30:10] out
[00:30:11] and
[00:30:11] listened.
[00:30:12] I
[00:30:13] didn't
[00:30:13] hear
[00:30:13] much
[00:30:13] though
[00:30:14] it
[00:30:14] was
[00:30:15] pretty
[00:30:15] quiet
[00:30:15] apart
[00:30:15] from
[00:30:16] the
[00:30:16] cars
[00:30:16] and
[00:30:17] the
[00:30:17] road
[00:30:17] below
[00:30:17] me.
[00:30:18] That's
[00:30:19] when
[00:30:26] jeered
[00:30:26] at
[00:30:26] me
[00:30:26] before.
[00:30:27] They
[00:30:28] were
[00:30:28] easy
[00:30:28] to
[00:30:29] spot
[00:30:29] because
[00:30:29] of
[00:30:29] those
[00:30:30] matching
[00:30:30] caps.
[00:30:31] I
[00:30:32] stopped
[00:30:32] walking
[00:30:32] as
[00:30:33] my
[00:30:33] anxiety
[00:30:34] flooded
[00:30:34] back
[00:30:34] and
[00:30:35] considered
[00:30:36] phoning
[00:30:36] somebody
[00:30:36] since
[00:30:37] I
[00:30:38] thought
[00:30:38] if
[00:30:38] I
[00:30:38] appeared
[00:30:39] to
[00:30:39] be
[00:30:39] on
[00:30:39] the
[00:30:39] phone
[00:30:40] when
[00:30:40] they
[00:30:40] walked
[00:30:40] past
[00:30:41] me
[00:30:41] they
[00:30:41] wouldn't
[00:30:42] bother
[00:30:42] me.
[00:30:43] Their
[00:30:44] reappearance
[00:30:44] was
[00:30:44] especially
[00:30:45] jarring
[00:30:45] since
[00:30:46] they
[00:30:46] were
[00:30:46] walking
[00:30:47] under
[00:30:47] the
[00:30:47] bridge
[00:30:47] but
[00:30:47] nobody
[00:30:48] came
[00:30:48] out
[00:30:48] from
[00:30:49] under
[00:30:49] the
[00:30:49] bridge.
[00:30:50] I
[00:30:51] waited
[00:30:51] and
[00:30:51] stared
[00:30:52] at
[00:30:52] the
[00:30:52] bridge
[00:30:52] for
[00:30:52] a
[00:30:53] while
[00:30:53] in
[00:30:53] complete
[00:30:53] confusion
[00:30:54] since
[00:30:55] I
[00:30:55] lost
[00:30:55] sight
[00:30:56] of
[00:30:56] them.
[00:30:57] There
[00:30:57] was
[00:30:57] no
[00:30:58] way
[00:30:58] that
[00:30:58] they
[00:30:58] could
[00:30:59] have
[00:30:59] just
[00:30:59] vanished
[00:30:59] and
[00:31:00] I
[00:31:00] could
[00:31:01] see
[00:31:01] through
[00:31:01] to
[00:31:01] the
[00:31:01] other
[00:31:02] side
[00:31:02] of
[00:31:02] the
[00:31:02] bridge
[00:31:03] so
[00:31:04] I
[00:31:19] that
[00:31:20] so
[00:31:21] I
[00:31:21] started
[00:31:21] to
[00:31:21] slowly
[00:31:22] walk
[00:31:22] towards
[00:31:23] the
[00:31:23] mouth
[00:31:23] of
[00:31:23] the
[00:31:24] bridge
[00:31:25] just
[00:31:25] as
[00:31:25] I
[00:31:25] was
[00:31:26] about
[00:31:26] to
[00:31:26] step
[00:31:26] in
[00:31:27] I
[00:31:27] saw
[00:31:28] it
[00:31:28] the
[00:31:29] shadow
[00:31:29] of
[00:31:29] one
[00:31:30] of
[00:31:30] the
[00:31:30] men
[00:31:30] cast
[00:31:30] across
[00:31:31] the
[00:31:31] wall
[00:31:32] my
[00:31:32] blood
[00:31:33] ran
[00:31:33] cold
[00:31:33] as
[00:31:33] I
[00:31:34] realized
[00:31:34] what
[00:31:34] was
[00:31:34] going
[00:31:35] on
[00:31:35] they
[00:31:36] were
[00:31:36] waiting
[00:31:36] for
[00:31:36] me
[00:31:37] at
[00:31:37] the
[00:31:37] other
[00:31:37] side
[00:31:38] of
[00:31:38] the
[00:31:38] bridge
[00:31:38] they
[00:31:39] must
[00:31:39] have
[00:31:39] hidden
[00:31:40] behind
[00:31:40] the
[00:31:40] abutment
[00:31:41] so
[00:31:41] I
[00:31:41] wouldn't
[00:31:41] see
[00:31:41] them
[00:31:42] my
[00:31:43] mind
[00:31:43] went
[00:31:50] I
[00:31:51] was
[00:31:51] convinced
[00:31:51] that
[00:31:51] they
[00:31:52] would
[00:31:52] follow
[00:31:52] me
[00:31:52] if
[00:31:53] I
[00:31:53] stayed
[00:31:53] where
[00:31:53] I
[00:31:54] was
[00:31:54] and
[00:31:54] phoned
[00:31:54] for
[00:31:54] help
[00:31:55] I
[00:31:56] was
[00:31:56] certain
[00:31:56] that
[00:31:57] they
[00:31:57] would
[00:31:57] come
[00:31:57] out
[00:31:58] to
[00:31:58] see
[00:31:58] what
[00:31:58] was
[00:31:59] going
[00:31:59] on
[00:31:59] and
[00:32:00] I
[00:32:31] next
[00:32:35] I
[00:32:35] made
[00:32:36] down
[00:32:37] the
[00:32:38] bridge
[00:32:41] I
[00:32:42] only
[00:32:42] glanced
[00:32:42] back
[00:32:43] when
[00:32:43] I
[00:32:43] was
[00:32:44] nearing
[00:32:44] the
[00:32:44] end
[00:32:44] of
[00:32:44] the
[00:32:45] road
[00:32:45] which
[00:32:46] was
[00:32:46] when
[00:32:46] I
[00:32:46] saw
[00:32:47] that
[00:32:47] the
[00:32:47] men
[00:32:47] were
[00:32:48] next
[00:32:48] to
[00:32:49] the
[00:32:49] bridge
[00:32:51] From my new vantage point, I could see that they were looking through the bridge to see where I had gone.
[00:32:56] I felt sick and terrified when I saw that.
[00:33:00] But I made it home safely.
[00:33:03] I don't know who the men were or what they wanted.
[00:33:06] I have no idea if I'll see them around again.
[00:33:09] But I do know I'm not going to be walking at night for a very long time.
[00:33:14] To the strangers under the bridge, let's not meet.
[00:33:32] This happened in the mid-90s when I was just a kid, maybe about seven.
[00:33:36] My family and I took a trip to a beach in Florida.
[00:33:40] We were staying in a beach house that was just a short walk from the beach.
[00:33:46] We went to the beach and I was supposed to stay in sight of my mom, but I wandered away.
[00:33:52] I quickly found myself way down the beach and before I knew it, I was lost.
[00:33:58] My instinct was to make my way back to the beach house, but a lot of the houses in the area looked identical, so I wasn't sure which one was ours.
[00:34:09] I started to get a little nervous since I couldn't see my mom anywhere and it started to rain.
[00:34:15] I came to a path that I was pretty sure led back to our house, but it didn't lead to a house at all.
[00:34:21] It led me to a parking lot instead.
[00:34:25] There was a big, dirty van parked there and it was the only vehicle around.
[00:34:30] I was about to turn back when I noticed this burly woman with brown hair.
[00:34:36] She was wearing a hot pink tank top and those large, chunky glasses that were popular in the 80s.
[00:34:44] She was waving and smiling at me from the passenger seat of the van.
[00:34:48] She called out,
[00:34:49] Oh my, it's raining.
[00:34:52] Where's your mommy?
[00:34:53] Let us take you to her.
[00:34:55] It's dangerous for you to be out here in the rain.
[00:34:58] You could be struck by lightning.
[00:35:01] She was very friendly.
[00:35:03] Almost overly so.
[00:35:05] In the driver's seat was a large man without a shirt on.
[00:35:09] He had gray chest hair and he was wearing a chunky looking gold chain.
[00:35:14] He was staring at me intently through the yellow tinted Elvis shades that he had on.
[00:35:20] He was also smoking a cigarette, which I knew was bad.
[00:35:24] The woman stepped out of the van, knelt down to my level and asked how old I was.
[00:35:30] When I told her, she gleefully remarked,
[00:35:32] We have two boys your age back at our house.
[00:35:35] You should come over and spend the night with us.
[00:35:38] We could watch movies and play Nintendo.
[00:35:40] We've got all types of cereal to eat in the morning.
[00:35:45] I had been taught all about stranger danger, but up until this point in my life,
[00:35:50] no adult has ever given me any reason not to trust them.
[00:35:54] The lady continued talking about stuff like how the boys at their house have go-karts
[00:36:00] and they even like to drink chocolate milk.
[00:36:03] It all sounded so enticing for seven-year-old me.
[00:36:07] I trusted her.
[00:36:09] Everything she was saying sounded great,
[00:36:11] but I mainly liked the idea of getting to play with some kids who were my age.
[00:36:16] I told her I needed to ask my mom first.
[00:36:19] She told me that it was no problem, since they lived just up the road.
[00:36:23] She insisted my mom wouldn't mind.
[00:36:26] As she continued her pitch,
[00:36:28] it started to rain harder.
[00:36:30] So, she slid the back door of the van open and said,
[00:36:34] Now let's get you out of this rain and go find your mommy.
[00:36:38] I knew that going along with her was something I shouldn't do,
[00:36:42] but the lady seemed nice and I was desperately wanting to get out of the rain.
[00:36:47] As I walked toward the open door of the van,
[00:36:50] an awful stench that almost made me gag immediately hit me.
[00:36:55] This set off alarm bells in my head.
[00:36:58] Something wasn't right.
[00:37:00] I noticed that there were cigarette butts all over the floor,
[00:37:04] and I looked up at the man in the driver's seat who was staring at me.
[00:37:07] He had this menacing glare.
[00:37:11] He had a creepy, toothy smile.
[00:37:14] His teeth were stained dark yellow.
[00:37:16] So, I instantly picked up on a very fucked up vibe from him.
[00:37:20] I knew right then and there I should run,
[00:37:23] but the woman was now ushering me to hurry up and get in.
[00:37:27] And when I hesitated, her demeanor completely changed.
[00:37:31] She became demanding and literally tried to push me into the van.
[00:37:35] She angrily said,
[00:37:36] Just get in already!
[00:37:38] In a tone that was completely opposite of how she sounded initially.
[00:37:42] I impulsively jumped to the side and started running as fast as I could.
[00:37:47] The woman managed to grab my arm or wrist,
[00:37:50] but somehow I was able to break free quickly and make a run for it.
[00:37:54] I think she tried to chase me, but thankfully I made it back to the beach.
[00:37:59] I got back to my mom who was now freaking out.
[00:38:02] I tried to explain what happened,
[00:38:04] but since I was seven,
[00:38:06] I don't think I was able to convey the danger I was actually in.
[00:38:09] I didn't fully understand it myself,
[00:38:12] but I'm glad that I got out of there.
[00:38:24] Salt Lake City, Utah.
[00:38:26] Let's Not Meet will be there live at the Metro City Music Hall on September 19th.
[00:38:32] Brandon Lanier of Odd Trails will be joining me to tell a story
[00:38:35] and do a Q&A after the show along with the meet and greets for the VIP tickets.
[00:38:40] You can get your tickets at letsnotmeetpodcast.com slash tour
[00:38:44] or follow the link in the show notes again.
[00:38:47] That's September 19th in Salt Lake City, Utah at Metro Music Hall.
[00:38:51] I'll see you all there.
[00:39:05] In 2015, I was 19 and working for the summer at a Bible camp for inner city kids.
[00:39:12] I'm going to leave out the name of the city,
[00:39:15] but just know that crime often occurs frequently in big cities,
[00:39:18] and this one was no different.
[00:39:21] I had been assured that the neighborhood we were going to be in
[00:39:25] was in the process of being quote-unquote gentrified,
[00:39:28] and they had even opened up a hipster coffee shop with its own dog park right down the street.
[00:39:34] Just to give you a crystal clear visual,
[00:39:37] this neighborhood had dilapidated houses
[00:39:39] with trash scattered about right next to the newer houses with immaculate yards
[00:39:44] and square modern architecture.
[00:39:47] The Bible camp, where I was working,
[00:39:50] was essentially located in a huge two-story house
[00:39:53] with a large fenced-in yard.
[00:39:56] Again, we were assured that we were safe
[00:39:58] since we had security bars on the windows
[00:40:01] and the exterior doors locked automatically when they were shut.
[00:40:05] The camp was conducted downstairs
[00:40:07] and the four counselors lived in a small unit upstairs
[00:40:11] that was off-limits during the day while kids were there.
[00:40:15] Our camp ran five days a week,
[00:40:17] from eight in the morning to four in the afternoon.
[00:40:20] Once the kids were gone for the day,
[00:40:23] any excess time was hours to explore the city,
[00:40:26] relax, or do whatever.
[00:40:29] One weekend night in July,
[00:40:31] all of us counselors were hanging out in the house,
[00:40:34] making a spaghetti dinner together.
[00:40:37] We were provided a stipend for food
[00:40:40] that we would divide accordingly each week
[00:40:42] so that we could buy what we needed for meals,
[00:40:45] snacks, and supplies.
[00:40:46] We also had a separate budget for food for the campers,
[00:40:50] as we were also in charge of preparing lunch
[00:40:53] and snacks for the kids on camp days.
[00:40:56] We had two fridges and two pantries,
[00:40:58] which helped keep our camp food and personal food separated.
[00:41:03] As you can probably guess,
[00:41:04] we labeled each as camp fridge pantry,
[00:41:08] and then staff fridge pantry.
[00:41:12] We were also pretty territorial over our personal food
[00:41:16] and wrote our names all over our snacks in the fridge.
[00:41:19] My best friend, we'll call her Chris,
[00:41:22] worked at the camp with me.
[00:41:24] It was our turn to cook dinner on this particular night,
[00:41:27] so I went into the staff fridge to grab the ground beef.
[00:41:31] I immediately noticed that my whole case of yogurt was gone.
[00:41:36] Yogurt was my go-to snack,
[00:41:38] and I regularly bought three cases a week.
[00:41:41] It was easy to notice that it had gone missing
[00:41:44] since I had just opened my last box about an hour before,
[00:41:48] and I left it in front of the ground beef.
[00:41:51] I know this sounds oddly specific,
[00:41:54] but I knew I did this.
[00:41:56] So, I closed the refrigerator door,
[00:41:59] and then I headed to the dining room.
[00:42:02] Chris was close behind me when I yelled,
[00:42:04] Who stole all my yogurt?
[00:42:07] That night, in addition to Chris and myself,
[00:42:10] the other two seasonal counselors were also there.
[00:42:14] Two other counselors who worked there full-time
[00:42:17] and lived in the area were there too,
[00:42:19] and one of them had their cousin there hanging out.
[00:42:24] Everyone looked at me wide-eyed
[00:42:25] before looking around at each other blankly.
[00:42:28] I immediately assumed it was the random cousin who was there,
[00:42:32] since I had never met her before.
[00:42:35] So, I sucked it up and said,
[00:42:38] Whatever.
[00:42:39] If you see something in the kitchen that has a name on it,
[00:42:41] please don't eat it.
[00:42:43] Then, I pulled Chris back into the kitchen
[00:42:46] to finish making the spaghetti for the group.
[00:42:49] We all ate dinner,
[00:42:51] and then the two full-time counselors volunteered
[00:42:53] to do the dishes since we made the food
[00:42:56] and let them eat with us.
[00:42:58] We figured that was fair,
[00:43:00] so the rest of us headed back upstairs
[00:43:02] to get comfy in the sitting room on the couches,
[00:43:04] and we started watching Family Guy.
[00:43:07] We were only about two minutes into an episode,
[00:43:10] when the counselor's cousin,
[00:43:12] who we'll call Sarah,
[00:43:13] announced,
[00:43:14] I can't find my phone or wallet.
[00:43:17] I paused the show and rolled my eyes,
[00:43:19] still annoyed by the missing yogurt.
[00:43:22] Chris asked,
[00:43:24] Where did you last have them?
[00:43:26] Sarah said that she left them on the couch
[00:43:28] before she went downstairs to dinner.
[00:43:31] Naturally,
[00:43:32] we all started looking around the small room for them.
[00:43:35] We were turning over couch cushions,
[00:43:37] looking under couches,
[00:43:39] behind them,
[00:43:40] under blankets,
[00:43:41] everywhere,
[00:43:42] but there was no phone and no wallet.
[00:43:45] Finally,
[00:43:45] we asked her,
[00:43:46] Are you sure you didn't leave them downstairs?
[00:43:49] So she headed back downstairs to look.
[00:43:52] The other two counselors went with her,
[00:43:54] while Chris and I stepped into our room,
[00:43:56] which was connected to the sitting room.
[00:43:58] We flopped down on the bottom bunk,
[00:44:01] and I proceeded to talk shit about Sarah,
[00:44:04] who I felt was ruining our chill night.
[00:44:07] Our door was open,
[00:44:09] and I was shocked when I saw a hand
[00:44:11] creep into view,
[00:44:13] like it was going to grab the doorframe.
[00:44:16] Assuming Sarah,
[00:44:17] or maybe one of the other counselors,
[00:44:19] happened to quietly come back upstairs,
[00:44:21] I said,
[00:44:23] Hey,
[00:44:23] did you find them?
[00:44:25] But the hand immediately disappeared from the doorframe,
[00:44:29] and there was no response.
[00:44:32] I looked at Chris,
[00:44:33] thinking,
[00:44:34] What the fuck?
[00:44:35] She looked back at me confused,
[00:44:37] since she never saw the hand.
[00:44:40] I quickly explained what happened,
[00:44:42] and we both jumped up and headed over to the stairs.
[00:44:45] I yelled down at the others.
[00:44:47] They were all still down there looking for Sarah's phone and wallet.
[00:44:51] By this point,
[00:44:52] I was freaked out because
[00:44:53] who else could possibly be up here with me and Chris?
[00:44:57] So then,
[00:44:58] we started looking around upstairs.
[00:45:01] We looked in our bedroom,
[00:45:03] the other bedroom,
[00:45:04] and the sitting room.
[00:45:05] We found nothing and no one.
[00:45:08] We decided not to say anything to the rest of the group yet,
[00:45:11] since I was worried about sounding insane.
[00:45:14] Plus,
[00:45:15] I was wondering how someone could have gone up and down the stairs so fast without making any noise.
[00:45:20] When Chris and I decided to go back downstairs,
[00:45:23] we saw Sarah.
[00:45:24] She was upset and crying.
[00:45:27] Her cousin said,
[00:45:28] Come on guys,
[00:45:30] did somebody take her stuff?
[00:45:32] Chris and I both knew that we didn't,
[00:45:34] so we said so.
[00:45:36] Then Sarah screamed that somebody obviously took her stuff,
[00:45:40] and we should just be honest.
[00:45:43] Things got heated.
[00:45:45] I finally decided to tell them about the hand that I saw on the doorframe,
[00:45:49] since I felt like it would reduce the tension of the situation.
[00:45:53] It did help,
[00:45:54] but then everybody started panicking.
[00:45:57] We were running around the house like maniacs,
[00:45:59] looking in every closet or hiding place that the kids use,
[00:46:04] but we found no one.
[00:46:06] We then called our camp director and asked him to come over
[00:46:09] as the situation just developed into chaos.
[00:46:13] When he arrived,
[00:46:14] the seven of us were all huddled in the foyer,
[00:46:17] freaked out,
[00:46:18] and we explained what was going on as best as we could.
[00:46:21] Our camp director didn't seem convinced that someone was in the house,
[00:46:25] and then threatened to call the cops
[00:46:27] if one of us didn't give Sarah her phone or wallet back.
[00:46:31] None of us fessed up,
[00:46:32] so he did.
[00:46:34] The cops came and searched the property,
[00:46:36] then took our statements.
[00:46:38] It seemed so dumb to keep going over everything
[00:46:42] as we were repeating our stories.
[00:46:44] It felt like we were talking in circles.
[00:46:46] We didn't have much to go off of except for a feeling.
[00:46:50] The cops wrote up a report for stolen property,
[00:46:53] which at least made Sarah feel a little bit better.
[00:46:56] With the house secure,
[00:46:58] everyone else left except for four seasonal counselors
[00:47:02] who were living there.
[00:47:04] We were a bit rattled,
[00:47:06] so we spent the night in the same room
[00:47:08] with the door barricaded,
[00:47:09] reassuring ourselves
[00:47:10] that Sarah's phone and wallet
[00:47:13] would turn up somewhere random,
[00:47:15] and when it did,
[00:47:16] we would just laugh about it.
[00:47:19] Fast forward to a few days later.
[00:47:22] We relaxed a bit,
[00:47:24] even though we hadn't found the phone or wallet
[00:47:26] like we expected.
[00:47:28] But nothing else weird had happened,
[00:47:31] and we had been occupied with the kids
[00:47:33] and the job in general.
[00:47:35] The kids had all gone home at this point,
[00:47:38] and it was just the four of us,
[00:47:40] seasonal counselors,
[00:47:41] all alone.
[00:47:43] We finished cleaning up outside,
[00:47:45] locked the gate,
[00:47:46] and headed to the dining room.
[00:47:48] We were all hungry and ready for some snacks.
[00:47:52] Chris went into the kitchen first and said,
[00:47:54] someone left the kitchen door open again.
[00:47:58] It wasn't too weird to find that door open.
[00:48:00] Kids go in and out of that specific door all day.
[00:48:03] She shut the door,
[00:48:05] and that's when I noticed
[00:48:06] that the staff refrigerator door was cracked open.
[00:48:10] I don't know what possessed me,
[00:48:12] but I referred to the mystery hand
[00:48:14] I swore I saw before and jokingly said,
[00:48:17] Oh no, he's back.
[00:48:20] The four of us laughed.
[00:48:22] We just thought it was ridiculous.
[00:48:25] Chris then grabbed a broom,
[00:48:27] held it as a weapon,
[00:48:28] and joked,
[00:48:29] Let's get him, girls.
[00:48:31] She threw open the pantry doors,
[00:48:33] screaming,
[00:48:34] Where the fuck are you, motherfucker?
[00:48:36] We know you're here.
[00:48:37] Show yourself.
[00:48:38] I was following behind her,
[00:48:40] laughing,
[00:48:40] but I inexplicably began to feel nervous
[00:48:43] and uneasy.
[00:48:44] Meanwhile, Chris,
[00:48:45] who was fully committed to the bit,
[00:48:47] continued her charade into the next room,
[00:48:49] throwing two more closet doors open.
[00:48:52] Then she moved into the front room
[00:48:54] and opened the closet door that was in there.
[00:48:57] She started to belt out another confident heckle.
[00:49:01] We know you're...
[00:49:04] When she stopped mid-sentence,
[00:49:06] she screamed loudly,
[00:49:08] so loudly that the skin on my neck prickled.
[00:49:12] She then threw the broom in the closet
[00:49:14] and sprinted out the front door,
[00:49:17] leaving it wide open.
[00:49:18] My heart was pounding so fucking hard at this point,
[00:49:21] but I was thinking that
[00:49:23] maybe she was messing with us.
[00:49:25] So I slowly went towards the foyer
[00:49:27] and out the front door.
[00:49:29] From there,
[00:49:30] I saw her booking it down the street
[00:49:32] towards a coffee shop.
[00:49:33] I thought,
[00:49:35] okay,
[00:49:36] what's going on?
[00:49:37] What is she doing?
[00:49:39] Just as soon as I turned around,
[00:49:41] assuming I'd have to address the others,
[00:49:43] I saw him.
[00:49:44] It was an older man
[00:49:45] who hardly had any teeth.
[00:49:47] He was just standing there
[00:49:49] after he emerged from the closet
[00:49:51] that Chris had sprinted away from.
[00:49:54] He walked toward me,
[00:49:56] grinning,
[00:49:57] put his hands up
[00:49:58] and impartially said,
[00:49:59] I didn't mean any harm.
[00:50:03] Then he slowly backed away
[00:50:05] and went down the street
[00:50:07] in the other direction.
[00:50:09] The creepiest part about him saying
[00:50:11] that he meant no harm
[00:50:12] was that
[00:50:13] I could tell
[00:50:15] he didn't mean it.
[00:50:17] It's like his tone
[00:50:19] and the grin
[00:50:20] were mocking me.
[00:50:22] I froze for a second,
[00:50:24] but then sputtered out,
[00:50:26] you can't just leave.
[00:50:28] He again impartially said,
[00:50:31] I didn't mean any harm.
[00:50:33] Then he flashed
[00:50:35] that goddamn creepy grin
[00:50:37] before turning
[00:50:38] and running away.
[00:50:40] I fumbled around
[00:50:42] in my pocket for a phone
[00:50:43] so I could dial 911
[00:50:45] and then I started to follow him,
[00:50:47] but as soon as I reached
[00:50:49] the edge of the house,
[00:50:50] he was gone.
[00:50:52] The next events
[00:50:53] were kind of a blur.
[00:50:55] The cops took our statements
[00:50:56] and reminded us
[00:50:57] that we needed to keep
[00:50:58] the doors shut
[00:50:59] at all times
[00:51:00] no matter what.
[00:51:01] Our director apologized
[00:51:03] profusely
[00:51:03] for not believing us.
[00:51:05] My parents wanted me
[00:51:06] to come back home
[00:51:07] for the remainder
[00:51:08] of the summer,
[00:51:09] but I figured,
[00:51:10] what else could happen?
[00:51:12] What kept me up that night
[00:51:14] were the unanswered questions.
[00:51:16] How long had he been
[00:51:17] in the house?
[00:51:18] Why did he randomly decide
[00:51:20] to take the phone
[00:51:21] and wallet
[00:51:21] from the person
[00:51:23] who didn't work there?
[00:51:25] Had he listened
[00:51:26] to our private conversations?
[00:51:28] Did he watch us
[00:51:29] take showers
[00:51:30] and get dressed?
[00:51:31] How much food
[00:51:32] had he stolen?
[00:51:34] Where did he go
[00:51:35] when the police
[00:51:35] were looking for him?
[00:51:37] What hiding places
[00:51:38] did we all miss
[00:51:39] during our extensive searches?
[00:51:42] Was he under my bed
[00:51:43] at night
[00:51:43] or at any other point
[00:51:45] during my stay?
[00:51:47] I just don't know
[00:51:48] and I don't think
[00:51:49] that I'll ever know,
[00:51:50] but I'm thankful
[00:51:51] that our interaction
[00:51:53] wasn't any worse.
[00:51:55] Chris was the one
[00:51:56] who was affected the most.
[00:51:58] She was terrified
[00:51:59] to stay in that house
[00:52:00] after that.
[00:52:01] She told me later
[00:52:02] that when she opened
[00:52:03] that door
[00:52:04] he was just grinning
[00:52:05] at her with those
[00:52:06] dead eyes,
[00:52:07] like he was waiting
[00:52:08] for her to finally
[00:52:09] find him.
[00:52:10] She said that
[00:52:11] she'll never forget
[00:52:12] his face.
[00:52:14] She and I
[00:52:15] are still best friends
[00:52:16] and at almost
[00:52:17] 30 years old
[00:52:18] I can't ever bring up
[00:52:20] that summer
[00:52:21] around her
[00:52:21] unless she's had
[00:52:23] a drink or two.
[00:52:24] So to the creepy
[00:52:25] grinning squatter
[00:52:26] who lived among us
[00:52:28] at summer camp
[00:52:28] for God knows
[00:52:29] how long
[00:52:31] Let's Not Meet.
[00:52:47] Thanks for listening
[00:52:48] and stick around
[00:52:49] after the music
[00:52:49] for your extended
[00:52:50] version of
[00:52:51] Let's Not Meet.
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[00:52:53] access to that
[00:52:53] and add free versions
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[00:53:04] let's not meet
[00:53:05] podcast
[00:53:05] to sign up
[00:53:06] and support
[00:53:07] the show today.
[00:53:08] This week
[00:53:08] you have heard
[00:53:09] he recorded us
[00:53:10] for years
[00:53:10] by Hageti
[00:53:38] I was being watched
[00:53:41] and finally
[00:53:42] the man who secretly
[00:53:43] lived at our
[00:53:44] summer camp
[00:53:45] by Rollup
[00:53:46] all of the stories
[00:53:47] you've heard
[00:53:47] this week
[00:53:48] were narrated
[00:53:49] and produced
[00:53:49] with the permission
[00:53:50] of their respective
[00:53:51] authors
[00:53:51] Let's Not Meet
[00:53:52] a true horror podcast
[00:53:54] a true horror podcast
[00:53:54] is not associated
[00:53:55] with reddit
[00:53:55] or any other
[00:53:56] message boards
[00:53:56] online
[00:53:57] as always
[00:53:58] if you have
[00:53:58] a story to share
[00:53:59] send it to
[00:54:00] letsnotmeetstories
[00:54:00] at gmail.com
[00:54:02] and make sure
[00:54:03] to check out
[00:54:03] the new episodes
[00:54:04] of my other podcasts
[00:54:05] like Odd Trails
[00:54:06] Cryptic Encounters
[00:54:07] and the Old Time
[00:54:08] Radio Cast
[00:54:08] at crypticcountypodcasts.com
[00:54:11] or wherever
[00:54:12] you get your podcasts
[00:54:13] I'll see you all
[00:54:14] in Salt Lake City, Utah
[00:54:16] on September 19th
[00:54:18] at the Metro Music Hall
[00:54:19] for the next live episode
[00:54:21] of Let's Not Meet
[00:54:22] don't forget
[00:54:23] to get your tickets
[00:54:24] you can get the link
[00:54:24] in the show notes
[00:54:25] additionally
[00:54:26] I'll be in Seattle, Washington
[00:54:27] on October 9th
[00:54:29] Portland, Oregon
[00:54:29] on October 30th
[00:54:31] Houston, Texas
[00:54:31] on November 9th
[00:54:32] and finally
[00:54:33] Dallas, Texas
[00:54:34] on November 10th
[00:54:35] again
[00:54:36] tickets are available
[00:54:37] at letsnotmeetpodcast.com
[00:54:39] slash tour
[00:54:40] or in the show notes
[00:54:42] I'll see you all
[00:54:42] next week
[00:54:43] stay safe