March 5, 2025 • 28 mins
Work isn’t always just about deadlines and paychecks—sometimes, it’s about surviving the eerie, unsettling encounters that leave you questioning reality. In this chilling collection of true workplace horror stories, we dive into the terrifying experiences of employees who’ve faced creepy co-workers, unsettling customers, and ominous encounters that defy explanation. From stalkers lurking after closing time to co-workers with disturbing secrets, these tales will make you think twice about who you share your workspace with. Lock the doors, dim the lights, and prepare for some of the most bone-chilling workplace nightmares ever told. 🔪 Have a scary workplace story of your own? Share it in the comments below! 🔔 Don’t forget to LIKE, SUBSCRIBE, and hit the notification bell so you never miss a terrifying tale! #HorrorStories #ScaryWorkplace #CreepyCoworkers #TrueScaryStories You can also listen in podcast form "Scary Stories from Bad Vibes" Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6WCjzGChSiOtskaZjonvqz Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/scary-stories-from-bad-vibes/id1614005565 iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/53-bad-vibes-nightmares-94022380/ Deezer: https://www.deezer.com/show/3497187 Podcast Addict: https://podcastaddict.com/podcast/3868720 Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/bad-vibes-nightmares-4264713 JiloSaavn: https://www.jiosaavn.com/shows/Scary-Stories-from-Bad-Vibes/1/A7Unzn6te1Y_ Become a CHANNEL MEMBER for early access for as little as 99 cents a month: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7N-0n6MRuhtRVfCpj_oArQ/join Perhaps buy some MERCH: https://teespring.com/stores/bad-vibes-storytelling Follow me on Social Media: TWITTER: https://twitter.com/BadVibesYOUTUBE INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/badvibesstorytelling/ Send your TRUE story in: badvibes760@gmail.com Music by: C.O.A.G: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXZsUCwRkPs Rain sounds: https://t.co/nQiu86WD20 https://www.youtube.com/@UCiSKnkKCKAQVxMUWpZQobuQ C.O.A.G: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXZsUCwRkPs "Quinn's Song: A New Man" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ "Echoes of Time" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Timestamps: Story 1: (00:00) Story 2: (02:10) Story 3: (03:36) Story 4: (05:29) Story 5: (06:53) Story 6: (08:03) Story 7: (11:17) Story 8: (14:58) Story 9: (21:20)
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
This happened several years ago when I was working at
a downtown jail in a large city as a councilor.
I worked a weird shift and got off at two am,
so it was obviously dark when I got off work,
and most people on the roads were people who just
closed down the bars downtown. At this job, I interacted
with inmates who were various levels of stable and sober,
(00:26):
and sometimes they were released at the same time I
was leaving work. The garage where I parked was a
couple blocks away from the jail, so I was cautious
walking back to the car, but I usually didn't have
issues anyway. This particular night, I got to my car
safely and started home about a twenty five minute drive.
(00:47):
Very quickly after I pulled out of the garage, I
noticed a car right behind me with its high beams on.
It followed me through the downtown, onto the highway, and
then exited on my exit. Wasn't too freaked out yet
because I live off a major road, but then it
took every turn I did, and it pulled into my
apartment complex right behind me. Well, at this point, I'm
(01:09):
getting concerned, but it's a big complex, so I just
head towards my building. The car is right behind me.
I usually back into a reserve parking spot, but this
car was so close I literally can't. I pull him forward.
The car drives up behind me and stops blocking me in.
At this point, I'm scared. I con stidered calling someone,
(01:32):
but all my friends are probably asleep because it's three am.
Calling nine one one feels like an overreaction, so I
finally dial nine one one on my phone, but don't
press the call button and step out of my car.
A man gets out of the other car. He's tall, white,
wearing a vest and a fedora. I'm a female, twenty
(01:52):
six blonde by three. He stares at me for about
ten seconds and says oh, gets back in the car
and drives off till One of the weirdest encounters in
my life. This just happened hours before posting this. I'm
(02:14):
currently off work and decided to deliver for door Dash
to get some extra money on the side. I was
on my way to deliver someone food when I actually
almost hit a guy while changing lanes. I don't know
if I just didn't see him or like he sped
up to get in front of me. Or whatever, but
he took it very personally and went back into the
left lane, and he sped up and break checked me.
(02:39):
Then I stepped out of the red light. He got
out of his car and hit my window. The light
turned green, so I sped off, and then he pulled
up next to me at the next light. He was
shouting at me a bunch of nonsense. So when the
light turned green, I sped off again and I thought
I lost him. I delivered the food and decided to
(02:59):
go home. On my way home, he found me and
pulled up next to me, shouting again. I called my
dad while I tried to lose him. Eventually I pulled
into a gas station and he drove off. My dad
came and we talked. While we were talking, I saw
a car that looked like him drive by, but I'm
not sure if it was him or not. After that,
(03:22):
my dad and I drove home, so to the psycho
with anger issues that looked a lot like KEESO, let's
not meet again. I work at a retail grocery chain,
and within the store there's a liquor department that is
(03:43):
separated from the rest of the grocery section. One day
I was working in that department when a man came in.
He had bought a few alcohol shots and struck up
a conversation with me. Everything seemed normal at first, but
then things took a very strange turn. He pulled an
axe out of his backpack. I was completely shocked. It's
(04:06):
hard to explain how surreal it was to see a
man rambling about how nobody would dare mess with him
because he had an axe. He held it out in
the open, talking about how sharp the blade was. To
prove his point, he cut his receipt in half from
the counter right in front of me, demonstrating the sharpness
of the blade. He went on about how the axe
(04:29):
could cut through bone and flesh. I was too my
best not to escalate the situation, so I tried not
to react or say much. Honestly, I was kind of
frozen and didn't tell him to put the axe away
or leave. My goal was to stay calm and get
him out as quickly as possible. As soon as he left,
I immediately let my supervisor know. She pulled me aside
(04:53):
to ask for a description of the man. Our security
officer was able to spot him on the store's camera footage,
and my store manager ended up contacting the police. I
gave a statement to the police officer, who told me
he had spoken to the man outside in the parking
lot and the man would be trespassed from the store.
Looking back, it was a deeply unnerving experience being alone
(05:16):
in an isolated section of a store with someone who
seemed mentally unstable and holding a massive axe. So I
work in a small, family owned shop in Australia. We
get odd people here and there, but this guy was
(05:37):
next level. He was all around creepy and off putting.
It started fine. He asked me some questions about what
we had, where it's from, what the best things are,
you know, normal things where I work. He then went
off to do his own thing for about five minutes,
and then he came back to me. This is where
(05:58):
it gets weird. He said something along the lines of
do you have social media? I say yes. He replied
with I feel like I've seen you on websites. Before
I take a second to reply and say I don't
post myself on social media. I don't think I'll be
on any websites. He goes, you don't have to lie
(06:21):
to me, winked. I won't tell and again. I don't
know what to say. He just walks off and says
I'll see you later and winked again. My coworker was
there when this happened, and she looked just as shocked
as I probably would have. I had no idea what
this man meant. I'm definitely not in any websites. I
(06:42):
don't often post myself face or anything. I've never seen
this man before. I'm a nineteen year old female. I
work at a small shop in the UK. This shop
has no camera or security measures. Today a man comes
(07:04):
in and starts pressing me for personal information. He asked
my age, exact birthday, parents' names, surname, the town I
am from, and the school I went to. I didn't
feel good about him, even though everyone says he's harmless.
He apparently did this to another young girl working there.
(07:24):
He came in three times today, and he also claimed
that I didn't give him enough cash back. Other customers
took up for me and said that he was being aggressive.
I don't want to work on my own anymore, so
I've asked my manager if I can work with someone else,
but she says she ought to ask her manager. I'm
only attempt. So if they say no, I'm handing it
(07:47):
in my notice, what do you think his intentions are?
We'd love to hear your thoughts. Also would love to
hear what you think regarding people without brush off this
behavior or unsupportive managers. I work at a large retail
store as a self checkout host. Most of my days
(08:10):
involve walking laps and hearing customers say things like I
don't work here or why aren't you at a register?
I get it, it can be frustrating. Usually there's two
or three of us manning the self checkout area with
a couple of regular registers open. We got a new guy,
let's call him Terry. He always wore a mask since
(08:33):
it was twenty twenty one and COVID was still going strong.
I was training him, telling him to stock the candy
and bags, and he asked me the usual questions if
I was in school, if I had a girlfriend. I
live in a small city that's big enough to have
a decent college, so students from allover tend to end
up either at the prison or in retail. I usually
(08:57):
ask them the same questions to both. Then he asked
me if I ever went hunting. Our town is surrounded
by forests, so it's a common question. No, I don't
like guns, I told him. He casually replied, well, I'll
have to take you one day. A few days later,
(09:17):
he was back on my side of the store. He
asked me if I had family in town, and if not,
where they lived. I told him I lived just three
doors down from my mom. Then, out of nowhere, he
started talking about hunting again. He said he was out
with his friends and they started using pack tactics to
corner their prey and finish it off. I thought that
(09:39):
was strange, especially for deer, since they usually run away
got the first sound of noise. He was off for
a few days. New hires often have trouble getting hours
the first few weeks. And when he came back, one
of my coworkers pulled me aside. They told me that
Terry had been talking a lot about me. The next
time I saw him, his took a darker turn. How
(10:02):
tall would you say you are? How much she weigh?
How well do you know the woods half so and
so street. I'm a big guy, six feet tall, three
hundred pounds. And when he brought up honting it again,
it fell off a chill ran down my spine. Come on, man,
he said, leaning in a little you'd like it. Just
(10:24):
some good old boys shooting the shit ld at night
in the middle of the woods. Then the real fun
starts before dawn. They won't know what hit them. The
mask covered most of their face, but I could see
his eyes when he smiled. I don't know what made
him think that that was a good way to convince someone,
but it definitely creeped me out. I felt like he
(10:46):
was implying something much darker than just a hunting trip. Honestly,
the whole thing sounded more like a horror story than
an invitation. I must have made a face, because he
suddenly turned and walked away quickly. I told a couple
coworkers about it, but that ended up being his last day.
I never saw him again, and honestly, I'm hoping we
(11:08):
never crossed paths again. I was eighteen years old when
this happened, and I'm thirty two now. I worked as
an assistant at the fire department. One night, a woman
(11:28):
called in saying that she was the widow of a
deceased fireman and was looking for someone to fix her
grandson's computer. As he lived with her. By that time,
I had already completed some IT courses and was used
to receiving calls from family and friends to do tasks
like that, so I took her number and told her
that I would call her back later. I asked a
(11:50):
sergeant about her and mentioned the name of the deceased husband.
He confirmed that she was who she says she was,
and that they were very familiar with her call for
help like this. I called her back and told her
I could help. I quoted her price for the job.
She agreed, and we scheduled a day to get it done.
(12:12):
On the scheduled day, I gathered all the necessary equipment
and went to the address she gave me. It was
in the city center. When I arrived, it was a
really old building and the bill wasn't working, and as
the man exiting the building told me, I waited around
thirty to forty minutes for her to answer the phone
to let me in. She lived on the fifth floor
(12:35):
and there's no elevator, so I took the stairs. When
I finally reached her floor, she opened the door quickly
and let me inside. As soon as I looked around,
I couldn't have been more disgusted. The apartment was filthy
and the smell was unbearable. I know this might sound
like I was judging her for a lower status, but
(12:56):
since she was a widow of a fireman, she receives
a pension that should be enough to take care of
herself and her grandson. There were cockroaches everywhere, and I
had to hold myself back from vomiting. She guided me
to the computer, and as we passed the bathroom door,
I noticed the bathtub looked like it had never been cleaned.
(13:17):
Once I started working on the computer, she kept talking
to me about how lonely she was and how handsome
I was. She offered me food and drink several times,
which I obviously declined. Then her grandson came into the room.
He looked about seven or eight years old but spoke
like a baby. She kept telling him how nice I
(13:38):
was and that I was going to fix the computer.
The boy asked her for a cup of milk, and
she went in to prepare it. During the entire time
she was in the kitchen, the boy just stared at me.
I tried talking to him a few times, but he
didn't respond. It felt like I was in a horror
movie and I could be a victim of murder at
(13:58):
any moment. Sure why, but I didn't feel safe there.
She came back with milk for the boy, and I
noticed that she was holding a knife in the other hand.
She said that she was preparing lunch and went back
into the kitchen. At that point, I was sure that
something was going to happen to me. I quickly finished
the job and called her into the room. She came in,
(14:21):
still holding the knife, and I told her I had
finished and that I was leaving. She insisted that her
grandson needed to test it first, since she was still
holding the knife. I agreed. The boy tested the computer
and told her it was faster now. At that moment,
she turned to me and said that she didn't have
money with her. I just told her it didn't matter
(14:44):
and that I could come back and collect the payment later.
She finally let me leave, and I almost ran for
the exit. This up and back in October, but I
haven't been on Reddit for a while and stumbled across
(15:04):
the sub on my page and realized I finally have
something to add. I wish I didn't, though, after this experience,
this is the most danger I've ever felt in my life.
I'm a nineteen year old female. Let's start off with
some context. I work at a typical photo studio that
is placed within a retail store. Not going to name
(15:25):
which one, but your first guest is probably correct. On
this particular day, I was scheduled to work three to seven,
which was our closing hours. Unless there's an oversaturation of
appointments in a particular time, it's usually one employee working
at a time. It's in the basement of the two
retail stores, tucked away in the little back corner. When
(15:49):
I arrived that day, my manager and co worker were
both still there getting off at three point thirty. I
cluck in and started chatting with my boss about how
things were going there. There's one family in the camera
room running a little behind, and she gave me details
about my assigned family. She also encouraged me to try
to get a pool in, which is when we try
(16:10):
to get customers from the retail store to take photos
in exchange for two free pictures fully printed and shipped.
That's when I noticed a man in a prison looking outfit.
It seems a little off though it looked like a costume,
not something real. It was October, so costumes weren't totally unusual,
but it wasn't Halloween weekend or anything, so I thought
(16:32):
it was a bit strange that he was just wandering
the store with no appointment, especially in such a quiet
part of the retail store near the photo studio. I
don't think my boss fully registered how odd this behavior was,
because she approached him and asked him if he wanted
to take some pictures. She mentions his costume would be
perfect for a shoot. I didn't catch much of it
(16:54):
since I was busy checking in the next family. My
boss walked by me while I was setting up the
studio and let me know that this guy was interested
in photos after my current appointment. The family I was
working with was great and everything was going smoothly, but
I noticed the man had come over and was sitting
on the bench closest to the studio. No big deal,
(17:15):
though the bench is usually for parents to watch or
put their things on, but it wasn't a huge deal
that he didn't know that. Before leaving, my boss popped
into the photo room and said something like, Hey, I'm
getting some weird vibes from that guy, so I'm gonna
have Andrew check in on you to make sure everything
is fine, the retail store manager. After I finished taking
(17:39):
the family's photos, it took me a few minutes to
edit them. They headed out while I stayed on the
computer working on the edits. At that point, the man
started walking into the studio asking if it was his turn.
That's when I noticed a crowbar. It was real, not
a prop, and he was swinging it around. I started
(18:00):
getting nervous and told him to wait outside for a bit.
While he was outside, he sat on the bench, twitching,
nodding off, and getting up every now and then. I
could tell he was on something and it was just me,
him and the single mother with their two kids. I
stopped focusing on editing and started watching him closely. He
(18:21):
was making the family uncomfortable. He kept waving the crowbar around,
and I started getting really concerned about the glass window
and my own safety. He came into the studio a
few times demanded to know when it was his turn.
His blank stare was un settling, and at that point
I was on edge. When I finished editing the family's photos,
(18:42):
I was shaking as I went through the checkout process.
The mom quickly picked up on the situation. The guy
kept peering over the computer to look at her photos.
She eventually snapped loudly, asking can I help you? He
rambled on about how he was supposed to be taking photos.
She leaned in and whispered to me, asking if I
(19:03):
was okay. I scribbled something on their appointment paper, trying
to suddenly communicate that I needed help, and wrote that
my manager was supposed to come over. By then, it
had been an hour and a half since my coworker left.
The mom was still uneasy, but we finished the transaction.
I felt paralyzed. I was once wipe away from being
(19:25):
alone in the studio with a man who had a
crowbar and was clearly on drugs. When I went to
swipe the mom's card, it didn't work in our system.
If the car doesn't work locally, we have to process
it at a regular register in the retail store. I
saw this as my chance to get out. I grabbed
a new transaction receipt and walked her over to the
(19:46):
registers in the salon area. The second I was out
of the man's line of sight, I burst into tears.
I explained everything to one of the salon employees and
they immediately paged the manager. They I asked if I
wanted to wait in the breakroom or the salon, but
I'd had to walk past the man to get to
the breakroom, so I stayed in the salon. The mom
(20:07):
reassuring me, telling me that there's no way she was
leaving me alone with him. That made me feel a
little better, but I still had to wait it out
while the manager and another guy went to confront him.
After about fifteen minutes, I peeked out to see if
he had left, and thankfully he had. I was so
relieved that I didn't have any more appointments that night,
(20:29):
but I still had to sit alone in the studio
for the rest of my shift. Every time the elevator
doors opened, I flinched. It took me a while to
calm down, and I still feel an easy when I
work alone sometimes. The scariest part, though, came after about
forty five minutes later, the store manager came to check
on me. I asked him about the guy and how
(20:50):
things had gone when they confronted him. The manager told
me that the guy absolutely flipped out, throwing the crowbar
on the ground near them. All security arrived, they were
able to escort him out, but I still can't shake
the fear of what could have happened if I had
been left alone with him. I planned a way for
an uber after work, but instead I waited in the
(21:12):
studio to get a rat home with my mom. I
was nineteen and I had been with my fiance for
about a year. He was my boyfriend at the time.
We both worked at the same chemical manufacturing company. I
(21:32):
was a night shift lead on my team and we
had just hired this guy, Gabe. Gabe was probably in
this late fifties or early sixties. As a shift lead
and trainer, I did interact with him no matter what.
On the night shift after two PM, my team and
my fiance's team were pretty much the only people around.
(21:55):
This is important because it meant I had very limited
options to avoid Gabe. So Gabe started talking to me
about his preferences in women. At first, I didn't see
how this was relevant to me, and I made it
clear that I didn't care about his preferences. I was
trying not to make a big deal out of what
seemed like small talk, but he kept going. He started
(22:19):
sharing his ideals about women's roles, saying things like it's
fine for women to work temporarily, but eventually they should
settle down and have kids. It works better when one
person works to pay the bills and the other manages
the household. I'm all for respecting people's life choices, even
if they don't align with my own, and I realized
(22:40):
many people live this way personally. I didn't agree with
his views that women should always be the one at home,
but I let him talk. I didn't see the reason
to get involved since it wasn't about me, and I
figured I was the opposite of his ideal anyway. We
even got into a heated debate about the economy once.
(23:00):
Gabe said that the economy was great because everyone could
be rich, to which I explained that it's impossible for
everyone to be rich in an economy. But beyond that
things were fine. Then my boyfriend had to leave the
company for health reasons and went unemployed. Since we only
had one car and I had a lener's permit at
(23:21):
the time, I was untcomfortable driving alone back home at
one am, so I gave my boss three weeks notice
to ensure that they could train the next person up properly.
My boss appreciated this and told the team. That's when
Gabe started acting differently towards me. During the first week
of my notice, I had a hickey on my neck.
(23:42):
My boss knew about it, but he didn't care since
we didn't interact with customers and it didn't affect my work.
But Gabe evidently did care. While I was working, he
tapped me on the shoulder and I assumed he had
a question. Instead, he addressed my hickey. Don't you think
it it's a little unprofessional, he asked. I replied that
(24:04):
no one needs to put on a show for anyone,
and that it didn't affect my ability to do my job.
He came back with, well, what if it bothers people
or a boss that you're parading your personal life like that.
I told him that my boss has no issue with it.
I would take care of it. Since no one had
said anything, I assumed they didn't care. That's when Gabe asked, so,
(24:29):
you don't care if it hurt someone's feelings. I found
that response strange. I didn't see how my hickey would
hurt anyone's feelings. If it bothered someone, that was their issue,
not mine. Gabe walked away, and I thought that would
be the end of it. Later, during lunch, I noticed
Acape holding his phone at a weird angle, and it
(24:49):
looked like he was taking a picture of me. I
didn't want to jump to conclusions without being sure, but
my instincts told me that he was taking a picture.
I didn't know for sure, but it would be a
confirmed later. By my last week, I was completely fed
up with Gabe. I trained the person taking over my position,
and I told her that she would be the one
(25:09):
making the decisions during my last week. I also privately
told her I wouldn't engage with Gabe anymore, and I'd
appreciate it if she handled him from here on out.
She agreed, but Gabe wasn't ready to let it go.
He pushed for conversations with me, and one day he said,
I just don't think I can take orders from a woman.
(25:31):
She can't be my boss. I reminded him that I
had been to his boss before and that the boss
above me was also a woman. He didn't want to
accept it, so I told him it didn't matter how
he felt, because I was leaving and my replacement was
in charge. If he didn't like it, he could quit.
On my last day, fate decided to throw me a curveball.
(25:53):
My replacement had an emergency and had to leave early,
so it was just me and Gabe, but to direct
him again. As we were leaving, Gabe stopped me and
asked me a question that made everything click into place.
I know your boyfriend is unemployed now, so how would
you feel if someone asked you if you're going to
leave him for someone who could provide you with a house,
(26:16):
a car, and everything you need. I lost it. First Off,
I love my fiance deeply. We've been together for over
six years now. Second, I've always worked hard for everything
I have, and the idea that I'd be with someone
just for their money was deeply insulting. I'm not shallow
or materialistic, and I've never relied on anyone but myself
(26:39):
for support. So I told him honestly that I would
be extremely offended by such an assumption. It showed such
lack of understanding of who I am and also insulted
my character. Then I left, ready to never deal with
him again. It became clear to me that from the beginning,
Gabe had been approaching me with romantic intentions. What made
(27:03):
it even worse was our forty year age gap. I
was disgusted by the whole thing. After I left, I
kept in touch with a woman who took over my role,
and she told me that Gabe I'd been telling people
that we were in love and that I was going
to leave my fiance for him. He even showed the
people a picture he had taken of me. I was
glad it was confirmed that he had indeed taken that photo.
(27:26):
Three months later, gave text to me a hey with
a smiley face. Because I had given my number to
employees just in case they had to contact me. I
immediately told him never to contact me again, that the
only reason why I ever communicated with him was because
I was his boss, and that there was no reason
for us to ever speak again. Then I changed my
(27:48):
number to make sure he couldn't reach me again.
This happened several years ago when I was working at
a downtown jail in a large city as a councilor.
I worked a weird shift and got off at two am,
so it was obviously dark when I got off work,
and most people on the roads were people who just
closed down the bars downtown. At this job, I interacted
with inmates who were various levels of stable and sober,
(00:26):
and sometimes they were released at the same time I
was leaving work. The garage where I parked was a
couple blocks away from the jail, so I was cautious
walking back to the car, but I usually didn't have
issues anyway. This particular night, I got to my car
safely and started home about a twenty five minute drive.
(00:47):
Very quickly after I pulled out of the garage, I
noticed a car right behind me with its high beams on.
It followed me through the downtown, onto the highway, and
then exited on my exit. Wasn't too freaked out yet
because I live off a major road, but then it
took every turn I did, and it pulled into my
apartment complex right behind me. Well, at this point, I'm
(01:09):
getting concerned, but it's a big complex, so I just
head towards my building. The car is right behind me.
I usually back into a reserve parking spot, but this
car was so close I literally can't. I pull him forward.
The car drives up behind me and stops blocking me in.
At this point, I'm scared. I con stidered calling someone,
(01:32):
but all my friends are probably asleep because it's three am.
Calling nine one one feels like an overreaction, so I
finally dial nine one one on my phone, but don't
press the call button and step out of my car.
A man gets out of the other car. He's tall, white,
wearing a vest and a fedora. I'm a female, twenty
(01:52):
six blonde by three. He stares at me for about
ten seconds and says oh, gets back in the car
and drives off till One of the weirdest encounters in
my life. This just happened hours before posting this. I'm
(02:14):
currently off work and decided to deliver for door Dash
to get some extra money on the side. I was
on my way to deliver someone food when I actually
almost hit a guy while changing lanes. I don't know
if I just didn't see him or like he sped
up to get in front of me. Or whatever, but
he took it very personally and went back into the
left lane, and he sped up and break checked me.
(02:39):
Then I stepped out of the red light. He got
out of his car and hit my window. The light
turned green, so I sped off, and then he pulled
up next to me at the next light. He was
shouting at me a bunch of nonsense. So when the
light turned green, I sped off again and I thought
I lost him. I delivered the food and decided to
(02:59):
go home. On my way home, he found me and
pulled up next to me, shouting again. I called my
dad while I tried to lose him. Eventually I pulled
into a gas station and he drove off. My dad
came and we talked. While we were talking, I saw
a car that looked like him drive by, but I'm
not sure if it was him or not. After that,
(03:22):
my dad and I drove home, so to the psycho
with anger issues that looked a lot like KEESO, let's
not meet again. I work at a retail grocery chain,
and within the store there's a liquor department that is
(03:43):
separated from the rest of the grocery section. One day
I was working in that department when a man came in.
He had bought a few alcohol shots and struck up
a conversation with me. Everything seemed normal at first, but
then things took a very strange turn. He pulled an
axe out of his backpack. I was completely shocked. It's
(04:06):
hard to explain how surreal it was to see a
man rambling about how nobody would dare mess with him
because he had an axe. He held it out in
the open, talking about how sharp the blade was. To
prove his point, he cut his receipt in half from
the counter right in front of me, demonstrating the sharpness
of the blade. He went on about how the axe
(04:29):
could cut through bone and flesh. I was too my
best not to escalate the situation, so I tried not
to react or say much. Honestly, I was kind of
frozen and didn't tell him to put the axe away
or leave. My goal was to stay calm and get
him out as quickly as possible. As soon as he left,
I immediately let my supervisor know. She pulled me aside
(04:53):
to ask for a description of the man. Our security
officer was able to spot him on the store's camera footage,
and my store manager ended up contacting the police. I
gave a statement to the police officer, who told me
he had spoken to the man outside in the parking
lot and the man would be trespassed from the store.
Looking back, it was a deeply unnerving experience being alone
(05:16):
in an isolated section of a store with someone who
seemed mentally unstable and holding a massive axe. So I
work in a small, family owned shop in Australia. We
get odd people here and there, but this guy was
(05:37):
next level. He was all around creepy and off putting.
It started fine. He asked me some questions about what
we had, where it's from, what the best things are,
you know, normal things where I work. He then went
off to do his own thing for about five minutes,
and then he came back to me. This is where
(05:58):
it gets weird. He said something along the lines of
do you have social media? I say yes. He replied
with I feel like I've seen you on websites. Before
I take a second to reply and say I don't
post myself on social media. I don't think I'll be
on any websites. He goes, you don't have to lie
(06:21):
to me, winked. I won't tell and again. I don't
know what to say. He just walks off and says
I'll see you later and winked again. My coworker was
there when this happened, and she looked just as shocked
as I probably would have. I had no idea what
this man meant. I'm definitely not in any websites. I
(06:42):
don't often post myself face or anything. I've never seen
this man before. I'm a nineteen year old female. I
work at a small shop in the UK. This shop
has no camera or security measures. Today a man comes
(07:04):
in and starts pressing me for personal information. He asked
my age, exact birthday, parents' names, surname, the town I
am from, and the school I went to. I didn't
feel good about him, even though everyone says he's harmless.
He apparently did this to another young girl working there.
(07:24):
He came in three times today, and he also claimed
that I didn't give him enough cash back. Other customers
took up for me and said that he was being aggressive.
I don't want to work on my own anymore, so
I've asked my manager if I can work with someone else,
but she says she ought to ask her manager. I'm
only attempt. So if they say no, I'm handing it
(07:47):
in my notice, what do you think his intentions are?
We'd love to hear your thoughts. Also would love to
hear what you think regarding people without brush off this
behavior or unsupportive managers. I work at a large retail
store as a self checkout host. Most of my days
(08:10):
involve walking laps and hearing customers say things like I
don't work here or why aren't you at a register?
I get it, it can be frustrating. Usually there's two
or three of us manning the self checkout area with
a couple of regular registers open. We got a new guy,
let's call him Terry. He always wore a mask since
(08:33):
it was twenty twenty one and COVID was still going strong.
I was training him, telling him to stock the candy
and bags, and he asked me the usual questions if
I was in school, if I had a girlfriend. I
live in a small city that's big enough to have
a decent college, so students from allover tend to end
up either at the prison or in retail. I usually
(08:57):
ask them the same questions to both. Then he asked
me if I ever went hunting. Our town is surrounded
by forests, so it's a common question. No, I don't
like guns, I told him. He casually replied, well, I'll
have to take you one day. A few days later,
(09:17):
he was back on my side of the store. He
asked me if I had family in town, and if not,
where they lived. I told him I lived just three
doors down from my mom. Then, out of nowhere, he
started talking about hunting again. He said he was out
with his friends and they started using pack tactics to
corner their prey and finish it off. I thought that
(09:39):
was strange, especially for deer, since they usually run away
got the first sound of noise. He was off for
a few days. New hires often have trouble getting hours
the first few weeks. And when he came back, one
of my coworkers pulled me aside. They told me that
Terry had been talking a lot about me. The next
time I saw him, his took a darker turn. How
(10:02):
tall would you say you are? How much she weigh?
How well do you know the woods half so and
so street. I'm a big guy, six feet tall, three
hundred pounds. And when he brought up honting it again,
it fell off a chill ran down my spine. Come on, man,
he said, leaning in a little you'd like it. Just
(10:24):
some good old boys shooting the shit ld at night
in the middle of the woods. Then the real fun
starts before dawn. They won't know what hit them. The
mask covered most of their face, but I could see
his eyes when he smiled. I don't know what made
him think that that was a good way to convince someone,
but it definitely creeped me out. I felt like he
(10:46):
was implying something much darker than just a hunting trip. Honestly,
the whole thing sounded more like a horror story than
an invitation. I must have made a face, because he
suddenly turned and walked away quickly. I told a couple
coworkers about it, but that ended up being his last day.
I never saw him again, and honestly, I'm hoping we
(11:08):
never crossed paths again. I was eighteen years old when
this happened, and I'm thirty two now. I worked as
an assistant at the fire department. One night, a woman
(11:28):
called in saying that she was the widow of a
deceased fireman and was looking for someone to fix her
grandson's computer. As he lived with her. By that time,
I had already completed some IT courses and was used
to receiving calls from family and friends to do tasks
like that, so I took her number and told her
that I would call her back later. I asked a
(11:50):
sergeant about her and mentioned the name of the deceased husband.
He confirmed that she was who she says she was,
and that they were very familiar with her call for
help like this. I called her back and told her
I could help. I quoted her price for the job.
She agreed, and we scheduled a day to get it done.
(12:12):
On the scheduled day, I gathered all the necessary equipment
and went to the address she gave me. It was
in the city center. When I arrived, it was a
really old building and the bill wasn't working, and as
the man exiting the building told me, I waited around
thirty to forty minutes for her to answer the phone
to let me in. She lived on the fifth floor
(12:35):
and there's no elevator, so I took the stairs. When
I finally reached her floor, she opened the door quickly
and let me inside. As soon as I looked around,
I couldn't have been more disgusted. The apartment was filthy
and the smell was unbearable. I know this might sound
like I was judging her for a lower status, but
(12:56):
since she was a widow of a fireman, she receives
a pension that should be enough to take care of
herself and her grandson. There were cockroaches everywhere, and I
had to hold myself back from vomiting. She guided me
to the computer, and as we passed the bathroom door,
I noticed the bathtub looked like it had never been cleaned.
(13:17):
Once I started working on the computer, she kept talking
to me about how lonely she was and how handsome
I was. She offered me food and drink several times,
which I obviously declined. Then her grandson came into the room.
He looked about seven or eight years old but spoke
like a baby. She kept telling him how nice I
(13:38):
was and that I was going to fix the computer.
The boy asked her for a cup of milk, and
she went in to prepare it. During the entire time
she was in the kitchen, the boy just stared at me.
I tried talking to him a few times, but he
didn't respond. It felt like I was in a horror
movie and I could be a victim of murder at
(13:58):
any moment. Sure why, but I didn't feel safe there.
She came back with milk for the boy, and I
noticed that she was holding a knife in the other hand.
She said that she was preparing lunch and went back
into the kitchen. At that point, I was sure that
something was going to happen to me. I quickly finished
the job and called her into the room. She came in,
(14:21):
still holding the knife, and I told her I had
finished and that I was leaving. She insisted that her
grandson needed to test it first, since she was still
holding the knife. I agreed. The boy tested the computer
and told her it was faster now. At that moment,
she turned to me and said that she didn't have
money with her. I just told her it didn't matter
(14:44):
and that I could come back and collect the payment later.
She finally let me leave, and I almost ran for
the exit. This up and back in October, but I
haven't been on Reddit for a while and stumbled across
(15:04):
the sub on my page and realized I finally have
something to add. I wish I didn't, though, after this experience,
this is the most danger I've ever felt in my life.
I'm a nineteen year old female. Let's start off with
some context. I work at a typical photo studio that
is placed within a retail store. Not going to name
(15:25):
which one, but your first guest is probably correct. On
this particular day, I was scheduled to work three to seven,
which was our closing hours. Unless there's an oversaturation of
appointments in a particular time, it's usually one employee working
at a time. It's in the basement of the two
retail stores, tucked away in the little back corner. When
(15:49):
I arrived that day, my manager and co worker were
both still there getting off at three point thirty. I
cluck in and started chatting with my boss about how
things were going there. There's one family in the camera
room running a little behind, and she gave me details
about my assigned family. She also encouraged me to try
to get a pool in, which is when we try
(16:10):
to get customers from the retail store to take photos
in exchange for two free pictures fully printed and shipped.
That's when I noticed a man in a prison looking outfit.
It seems a little off though it looked like a costume,
not something real. It was October, so costumes weren't totally unusual,
but it wasn't Halloween weekend or anything, so I thought
(16:32):
it was a bit strange that he was just wandering
the store with no appointment, especially in such a quiet
part of the retail store near the photo studio. I
don't think my boss fully registered how odd this behavior was,
because she approached him and asked him if he wanted
to take some pictures. She mentions his costume would be
perfect for a shoot. I didn't catch much of it
(16:54):
since I was busy checking in the next family. My
boss walked by me while I was setting up the
studio and let me know that this guy was interested
in photos after my current appointment. The family I was
working with was great and everything was going smoothly, but
I noticed the man had come over and was sitting
on the bench closest to the studio. No big deal,
(17:15):
though the bench is usually for parents to watch or
put their things on, but it wasn't a huge deal
that he didn't know that. Before leaving, my boss popped
into the photo room and said something like, Hey, I'm
getting some weird vibes from that guy, so I'm gonna
have Andrew check in on you to make sure everything
is fine, the retail store manager. After I finished taking
(17:39):
the family's photos, it took me a few minutes to
edit them. They headed out while I stayed on the
computer working on the edits. At that point, the man
started walking into the studio asking if it was his turn.
That's when I noticed a crowbar. It was real, not
a prop, and he was swinging it around. I started
(18:00):
getting nervous and told him to wait outside for a bit.
While he was outside, he sat on the bench, twitching,
nodding off, and getting up every now and then. I
could tell he was on something and it was just me,
him and the single mother with their two kids. I
stopped focusing on editing and started watching him closely. He
(18:21):
was making the family uncomfortable. He kept waving the crowbar around,
and I started getting really concerned about the glass window
and my own safety. He came into the studio a
few times demanded to know when it was his turn.
His blank stare was un settling, and at that point
I was on edge. When I finished editing the family's photos,
(18:42):
I was shaking as I went through the checkout process.
The mom quickly picked up on the situation. The guy
kept peering over the computer to look at her photos.
She eventually snapped loudly, asking can I help you? He
rambled on about how he was supposed to be taking photos.
She leaned in and whispered to me, asking if I
(19:03):
was okay. I scribbled something on their appointment paper, trying
to suddenly communicate that I needed help, and wrote that
my manager was supposed to come over. By then, it
had been an hour and a half since my coworker left.
The mom was still uneasy, but we finished the transaction.
I felt paralyzed. I was once wipe away from being
(19:25):
alone in the studio with a man who had a
crowbar and was clearly on drugs. When I went to
swipe the mom's card, it didn't work in our system.
If the car doesn't work locally, we have to process
it at a regular register in the retail store. I
saw this as my chance to get out. I grabbed
a new transaction receipt and walked her over to the
(19:46):
registers in the salon area. The second I was out
of the man's line of sight, I burst into tears.
I explained everything to one of the salon employees and
they immediately paged the manager. They I asked if I
wanted to wait in the breakroom or the salon, but
I'd had to walk past the man to get to
the breakroom, so I stayed in the salon. The mom
(20:07):
reassuring me, telling me that there's no way she was
leaving me alone with him. That made me feel a
little better, but I still had to wait it out
while the manager and another guy went to confront him.
After about fifteen minutes, I peeked out to see if
he had left, and thankfully he had. I was so
relieved that I didn't have any more appointments that night,
(20:29):
but I still had to sit alone in the studio
for the rest of my shift. Every time the elevator
doors opened, I flinched. It took me a while to
calm down, and I still feel an easy when I
work alone sometimes. The scariest part, though, came after about
forty five minutes later, the store manager came to check
on me. I asked him about the guy and how
(20:50):
things had gone when they confronted him. The manager told
me that the guy absolutely flipped out, throwing the crowbar
on the ground near them. All security arrived, they were
able to escort him out, but I still can't shake
the fear of what could have happened if I had
been left alone with him. I planned a way for
an uber after work, but instead I waited in the
(21:12):
studio to get a rat home with my mom. I
was nineteen and I had been with my fiance for
about a year. He was my boyfriend at the time.
We both worked at the same chemical manufacturing company. I
(21:32):
was a night shift lead on my team and we
had just hired this guy, Gabe. Gabe was probably in
this late fifties or early sixties. As a shift lead
and trainer, I did interact with him no matter what.
On the night shift after two PM, my team and
my fiance's team were pretty much the only people around.
(21:55):
This is important because it meant I had very limited
options to avoid Gabe. So Gabe started talking to me
about his preferences in women. At first, I didn't see
how this was relevant to me, and I made it
clear that I didn't care about his preferences. I was
trying not to make a big deal out of what
seemed like small talk, but he kept going. He started
(22:19):
sharing his ideals about women's roles, saying things like it's
fine for women to work temporarily, but eventually they should
settle down and have kids. It works better when one
person works to pay the bills and the other manages
the household. I'm all for respecting people's life choices, even
if they don't align with my own, and I realized
(22:40):
many people live this way personally. I didn't agree with
his views that women should always be the one at home,
but I let him talk. I didn't see the reason
to get involved since it wasn't about me, and I
figured I was the opposite of his ideal anyway. We
even got into a heated debate about the economy once.
(23:00):
Gabe said that the economy was great because everyone could
be rich, to which I explained that it's impossible for
everyone to be rich in an economy. But beyond that
things were fine. Then my boyfriend had to leave the
company for health reasons and went unemployed. Since we only
had one car and I had a lener's permit at
(23:21):
the time, I was untcomfortable driving alone back home at
one am, so I gave my boss three weeks notice
to ensure that they could train the next person up properly.
My boss appreciated this and told the team. That's when
Gabe started acting differently towards me. During the first week
of my notice, I had a hickey on my neck.
(23:42):
My boss knew about it, but he didn't care since
we didn't interact with customers and it didn't affect my work.
But Gabe evidently did care. While I was working, he
tapped me on the shoulder and I assumed he had
a question. Instead, he addressed my hickey. Don't you think
it it's a little unprofessional, he asked. I replied that
(24:04):
no one needs to put on a show for anyone,
and that it didn't affect my ability to do my job.
He came back with, well, what if it bothers people
or a boss that you're parading your personal life like that.
I told him that my boss has no issue with it.
I would take care of it. Since no one had
said anything, I assumed they didn't care. That's when Gabe asked, so,
(24:29):
you don't care if it hurt someone's feelings. I found
that response strange. I didn't see how my hickey would
hurt anyone's feelings. If it bothered someone, that was their issue,
not mine. Gabe walked away, and I thought that would
be the end of it. Later, during lunch, I noticed
Acape holding his phone at a weird angle, and it
(24:49):
looked like he was taking a picture of me. I
didn't want to jump to conclusions without being sure, but
my instincts told me that he was taking a picture.
I didn't know for sure, but it would be a
confirmed later. By my last week, I was completely fed
up with Gabe. I trained the person taking over my position,
and I told her that she would be the one
(25:09):
making the decisions during my last week. I also privately
told her I wouldn't engage with Gabe anymore, and I'd
appreciate it if she handled him from here on out.
She agreed, but Gabe wasn't ready to let it go.
He pushed for conversations with me, and one day he said,
I just don't think I can take orders from a woman.
(25:31):
She can't be my boss. I reminded him that I
had been to his boss before and that the boss
above me was also a woman. He didn't want to
accept it, so I told him it didn't matter how
he felt, because I was leaving and my replacement was
in charge. If he didn't like it, he could quit.
On my last day, fate decided to throw me a curveball.
(25:53):
My replacement had an emergency and had to leave early,
so it was just me and Gabe, but to direct
him again. As we were leaving, Gabe stopped me and
asked me a question that made everything click into place.
I know your boyfriend is unemployed now, so how would
you feel if someone asked you if you're going to
leave him for someone who could provide you with a house,
(26:16):
a car, and everything you need. I lost it. First Off,
I love my fiance deeply. We've been together for over
six years now. Second, I've always worked hard for everything
I have, and the idea that I'd be with someone
just for their money was deeply insulting. I'm not shallow
or materialistic, and I've never relied on anyone but myself
(26:39):
for support. So I told him honestly that I would
be extremely offended by such an assumption. It showed such
lack of understanding of who I am and also insulted
my character. Then I left, ready to never deal with
him again. It became clear to me that from the beginning,
Gabe had been approaching me with romantic intentions. What made
(27:03):
it even worse was our forty year age gap. I
was disgusted by the whole thing. After I left, I
kept in touch with a woman who took over my role,
and she told me that Gabe I'd been telling people
that we were in love and that I was going
to leave my fiance for him. He even showed the
people a picture he had taken of me. I was
glad it was confirmed that he had indeed taken that photo.
(27:26):
Three months later, gave text to me a hey with
a smiley face. Because I had given my number to
employees just in case they had to contact me. I
immediately told him never to contact me again, that the
only reason why I ever communicated with him was because
I was his boss, and that there was no reason
for us to ever speak again. Then I changed my
(27:48):
number to make sure he couldn't reach me again.
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