For some people, the spine-tingling thrill that horror films or unsettling literature provide is unnecessary; they’ve faced eerie experiences firsthand. While a few of these haunting recollections can be rationalized, others challenge our comprehension of reality, pushing the limits of our understanding.

Today, we prepared a selection of authentic stories that are sure to leave you feeling astonished and perplexed.

Story 1:

Years ago, my ex-boyfriend got out of bed and started his morning workout, but for once, he was doing it in the bedroom. My eyes were still closed, but I could hear his breathing getting heavy and strange. It became so loud that it made me angry. I turned over and opened my eyes to tell him to shut up, only to find nobody in the room.
The breathing suddenly stopped, but I froze in terror when I saw he wasn’t in the room, even though it all sounded so real. Then I stepped out to find he had been upstairs in the shower. © catsanda***hol13 / Reddit

Story 2:

I’m home with my 2-year-old. I come out of the bathroom and walk down the hall to where he’s sitting. He looks at me and smiles, and my heart melts.
Then he looks just over my shoulder, past me, into the darkness of the hallway, and says, “Hi.” I spun around so quickly—it’s just the two of us. I had all the lights on for the rest of the night. My skin crawls as I type this. © theblackestelvis / Reddit

Story 3:

Last week, my housemates went out, but I was busy and couldn’t go out with them. At about 11, I heard someone trying my locked bedroom door and assumed it was my housemate, so I shouted, “What do you want?”
The problem I didn’t know at the time was that they had all left the house at half past 10. Someone had smashed up our back door and was checking all the rooms, presumably planning to rob us. I don’t like thinking about what could have happened to me if my door hadn’t been locked. © NamingIsDifficult / Reddit