As someone who lives for all things paranormal and true crime, there's a, like, 87% chance I am listening to a spooky podcast at any given time. That being said, it's not often I learn about downright creepy phenomena I've never heard of before. Buttttt, just yesterday I was listening to the latest episode of my personal favorite podcast — And That's Why We Drink — where I was introduced to "Third Man Syndrome." Honestly? Life changing!
Essentially, Third Man Syndrome is the phenomenon in which, during times of emergency or crisis, people see, hear, or feel the presence of an additional person who does not exist or was never there. Sometimes they're simply a comforting presence, and other times they intervene and provide assistance that saves that person's life.
I've personally had a few friends tell me stories like these in the past, but I never knew of a term for them...until now! So, as always, I'm reaching out to you, my dear BuzzFeed readers, asking if you, too have any spooky Third Man Syndrome stories to share. If so, we'd love to hear about them! To get your gears turning, here are a couple examples:
Perhaps you were just chilling in your car, singing along to Taylor Swift on your daily commute to work, just like you always do, when you suddenly heard a voice scream at you to switch lanes. There was no one else in the car with you but, just to be safe, you switched anyway...and narrowly missed being part of a major car accident that honestly might've killed you.
Or perhaps you were caught in a house fire and couldn't find your way out through the smoke, and someone picked you up and carried you right out to safety. BUT, when you went looking for the person minutes later to thank them for their courage...you learned that firefighters hadn't even arrived yet and the mystery person was nowhere to be found.
Or maybe you were on a long hike by yourself and pretty horribly messed up your ankle midway through. While you were limping towards help, you couldn't shake the feeling that someone else was walking with you. It didn't feel like someone was following you, per se, but more like they were looking out for you.
