21 Readers Talk About Real-Life Spooky Encounters They've Lived Through

"I went back to sleep, but I remember feeling a cold hand on my foot at one point in the night."

BuzzFeed Brazil asked readers on Facebook to share the most terrifying ghost/scary stories that have happened to them in real life. Here are their stories:

Some stories have been edited for length and clarity.

1. "The mysterious face I'd seen stayed in the same place for a little while, and then disappeared."

Pexels/ Andrew Weber

"In January, I was at a cousin's house. My husband went to the kitchen to prepare our baby daughter's bottle, and I stayed in the room with her. I was looking through the door that opened into the living room and, in my peripheral vision, I thought I saw him walk by and go over by the couch. He was just staring at me and smiling. But then, a few moments later, my husband came out from the kitchen and walked into the room, with the baby's bottle.

Meanwhile, the mysterious face I'd seen stayed in the same place for a little while, and then disappeared." –Jessie Amaral

2. "Suddenly, he went white as a sheet and started to cry, saying that there was a scary boy with a messed-up face on the roof calling out to him."

Peter Forster on Unsplash

"A few years ago, my parents went through a very difficult separation. We moved into a smaller house, and by the end of the first day, my youngest brother (who was about 5 years old) seemed to change completely. He went from being a rambunctious troublemaker to a very quiet child. At first, we thought that was great because the kid had been driving us crazy. But even two weeks after the move, we began to feel a little concerned that he wouldn't go into the kitchen or the back yard alone.

One day, some friends came over, and we spent the whole afternoon playing in the yard. My brother was having so much fun that that he didn't even realize it was getting dark. Suddenly, he went white as a sheet and started to cry, saying that there was a scary boy with a messed-up face on the roof calling out to him.

Two days later, a neighbor told us that, shortly before we had moved in, the couple who'd lived there went out one night and left their six-year-old son locked inside. The kid had tried to make something to eat and ended up setting fire to the kitchen. The neighbors managed to put out the fire, but the child apparently died right there in the yard.

When my mom got back to the house, she started to frantically scrape the kitchen wall and, lo and behold, under the white paint was a burned wall.

We moved out a few days later." –Natasha Martins

3. "One night, she opened her eyes and looked at the edge of the bed and saw that the mattress was dipped downward."

Annie Spratt/ Unsplash

"My aunt had a spooky experience in the first house that she lived in after getting married.

The house was a kind of basement, with a really low roof, and she had to stoop down to enter. The story goes that, every night when she slept, she felt something squeezing her chest.

One night, she opened her eyes and looked at the edge of the bed and saw that the mattress was dipped downward, as if someone was sitting there. She decided to call in a folk healer and a priest to clean out the house, and only then did the haunting stop." –Guillermo Santos

4. "A little while later, he turned to me and said, 'Wow, I am feeling a really bad energy behind you. Someone who has a name that starts with an 'I.'"

Luvemakphoto / Getty Images

"One day, I was over at a neighbor's house to lend her some things for a Halloween party. One of her friends, who I'd never met before, started talking about spirits. A little while later, he turned to me and said, 'Wow, I am feeling a really bad energy behind you. Someone who has a name that starts with an 'I.'

I froze and said that my grandmother's name had been Iraci and that she had died about a year before. I had dreamed of her often kneeling on the floor and begging for my forgiveness. This friend then told me that she was always close to me, and she wasn't going anywhere until I did something about it." –Diih Coelho

5. "For now, I'm just putting up with my supernatural roommate, particularly since they've never done anything to cause me harm."

Arquivo Pessoal

"I live with a ghost. I rented a furnished house for a helluva great price, and afterward, I started hearing some sinister noises in the attic, like footsteps or something heavy being dragged. I called the exterminator and he said that everything was okay. After a little while, I started to realize that the cabinets in my kitchen simply wouldn't stay closed. Every time that I got home, more and more drawers and doors were left open.

Then one day, when I got home from work, all of the doors on the wardrobe in my bedroom were open.

I called a pastor friend of my grandmother to pray over the house. It didn't work, and the ghost started to turn the lights on and off, as well as the TV while I was watching it.

I did some research on the history of the house and discovered that a young lady had once died there, but I still don't know how the death came about.

I've been living there for a year and seven months. For now, I'm just putting up with my supernatural roommate, particularly since they've never done anything to cause me harm, except for making a big mess." –Amanda Fidalgo

6. "He said he thought that moaning was coming from me."

MontyLov/ Unsplash

"There was a time when I was 13 and playing video games with my nephew. It was just the two of us. I thought I saw someone out of the corner of my eye in the house, but I didn't say anything. A few minutes later, my nephew asked me if grandma was home, but I told him no. Then he asked who the woman who had walked by in the hallway was.

I jumped up, and the light in the kitchen burned out. Our dog started barking and growling and kept staring under the table.

Years later, my nephew and I were traveling and encountered an even scarier situation. We were sharing a room, and at night, I heard moaning. I thought it was my nephew having a nightmare, so I woke him up. He said he thought that moaning was coming from me. I went back to sleep, but I remember feeling a cold hand on my foot at one point in the night. –Thiago Ribeiro

7. "I don't know where I found the courage to say 'Get out of here!'"

Drasa / Getty Images

"Once when I was lying in bed, I felt someone press up against me and whisper in my ear. I don't know where I found the courage to say 'Get out of here!' Later on, I felt the same sensation again, so I called my grandmother to come sleep in my bed with me. As soon as she came, this phantom presence disappeared." –Ricardo Moreno

8. "My little cousin said that he had waved goodbye and flew up towards the ceiling."

Avtg / Getty Images

"My grandfather died when I was nine years old. He was always crazy about his grandkids, and we still see him appear randomly. Every time he appears, some bullshit is about to go down. In fact, he once appeared to me and, the next day, I got run over.

Sometimes, it was cute, though. When my cousin was three, she was getting out of a bath when suddenly, she started to laugh and hold out her hands. My aunt asked her what had happened, and she said, 'Grandpa is pretending to hug me and blow kisses.'

My aunt, who was used to dealing with these random appearances from her dead father, asked where he was. My little cousin said that he had waved goodbye and flew up towards the ceiling." –Lucile Da Rosa Pereira

9. "Both my sister and I have seen the mirror swinging randomly."

Arquivo Pessoal

"There is this mirror in front of my living room door, near the entrance to the bedroom. Both my sister and I have seen it swinging randomly, even though all of our windows were closed." –Wendy Fernandez

10. "Whenever it is exactly 6 p.m., the doorbell rings."

Pixabay

"At my great aunt's house, whenever it is exactly 6 p.m., the doorbell rings. Right at the time for holy mass and saying prayers. But she knows nobody is there because the corridor has a motion sensor, and the lights don't go on. A priest has even been there to investigate, but the doorbell didn't stop ringing." —Izabella Pavão

11. "She extended her hand toward me, and when I reached out, she started burning."

Pixabay

"When I moved to São Paulo, my husband and I slept on the floor of his parents' house because we couldn't both fit in the single bed. One day, I woke up in the middle of the night, looked under the bed, and saw my dead mother, only she was very much alive. She extended her hand toward me, and when I reached out, she started burning. I screamed and woke up my in-laws, my husband and even the neighbors." –Letícia Amaral

12. "The day after, I wake up covered in bruises."

Lennart kcotsttiw/ Pexels

"I have visions of an old man wearing an ancient black suit and a hat. For some reason, I can't look him in the eye and I always get really sick afterwards! I lose my voice, my breathing freezes up, my heart pounds ... or all of the above together. The day after, I wake up covered in bruises." –Michelly Alves

13. "He said that whoever was going to live in the addition would be haunted, just because we'd messed with her."

Patrick Hendry/ Unsplash

"We were building an addition on the back of the house, and there was a fight with our neighbor because she was using our trash bin without asking permission.

When we went to complain, she said that whoever was going to live in the addition would be haunted, just because we'd messed with her. We laughed about it, and construction continued, but every damn day my dogs would begin barking at the place uncontrollably.

It got to the point where my dad went out and found a folk healer. Only after that, the dogs stopped being afraid of the addition." –Ana Caroline Moura

14. "My mother used to say that she always saw a random little girl in the house."

Pixabay

"My mother used to say that she always saw a random little girl in the house, but it hadn't happened in a while. Recently, my girlfriend was at our house and overheard my brother playing with a little girl in the living room. But there was no one actually in there with him. When we told my mom about it, she got covered in goosebumps and had a fit. We had to call to her three times before she regained consciousness. Could it have been the same little girl? We don't know, because my mom came back to herself but said that she couldn't remember a thing." —Heloisa Meleras

15. "A few years later, my mom got pregnant, and my new sister looked a lot like that little girl."

Aimee Vogelsang/ Unsplash

"When I was around twelve years old, I woke up after midnight and there was a girl, who was maybe seven years old, kneeling and holding out a rose to me. I ran to turn on the lights, and she disappeared. A few years later, my mom got pregnant, and my new sister looked a lot like that little girl." –Lilith Omena

16. "I've always felt a dark presence in my bedroom."

Pixabay

"I've always felt a dark presence in my bedroom, and that sensation stayed with me even after I moved. One day, I went to a friend's house, and her grandmother asked if I had been baptized, because there was a 'being' following me." –Maria Schwambach Krohling

17. "When I looked away, I came FACE TO FACE with the long-haired figure, slouched on the edge of my bed, looking at me."

Pixabay

"When I was 10 years old, I slept with my sister in a room with a curtain for the door. One night, I woke up, looked toward the curtain and saw the silhouette of a tall, long-haired person. At the time, I thought it was my mom.

When I looked away, I came FACE TO FACE with the long-haired figure, slouched on the edge of my bed, looking at me. I instantly SHOOK ALL OVER, got really scared and only managed to close my eyes. I wasn't sleepy at all, but as soon as I closed my eyes I passed out. I don't remember anything else from that night. Nothing else like that has happened since, but that figure intrigues me to this day." –Camila Ribeiro

18. "When I looked toward the door, I felt like someone was there, watching me."

Nitayuko / Getty Images

"In the early hours of January 7, I was at my boyfriend's house and kept waking up randomly. Then, at 3 a.m. or so, I woke up again feeling very afraid. I thought I might go smoke a cigarette in the living room, but when I looked toward the door, I felt like someone was there, watching me. The presence got stronger and stronger. I cozied up to my boyfriend and, after awhile, I fell asleep. In the morning, I woke up to the news that my grandfather had died in the night, at 3 a.m." –Emelly Valente Rubem

19. "Nobody believed her, until one day, when my uncle decided to see this ghost for himself."

BSD/ Unsplash

"My grandmother told me a story about the time when my youngest aunt was 16 years old, and the family was desperate to move out of their home. The reason: a ghost wouldn't let this aunt of mine sleep, eat or anything at all. She lost weight really quickly, and spent all night arguing with herself, and telling the 'young man' to go away because she wasn't 'going to marry him.' Nobody believed her, until one day, when my uncle decided to see this ghost for himself. He pretended to be asleep in bed beside her and ran out screaming because he saw the young man, too." –Raiza Inacio

20. "It was just the three of us, until I saw the reflection of a boy wearing old-fashioned clothes."

Pixabay

"In the house where I used to live, there was this little boy ghost who I sometimes saw.

The first time was when I had some friends over. It was just the three of us, until I saw the reflection of a boy wearing old-fashioned clothes. I was floored and told my friends. Suddenly, a pot on the kitchen counter was hurled through the air. It scared the crap out of us.

The other time was when I was in my room, listening to the radio. I had left the door open, and I saw this boy looking at me from the doorway. When I went to see him, he took off running. I thought it was my brothers, but they were in the living room watching TV.

Years later, I found out that my cousin saw him, too. She described him perfectly to me, even though I'd never told anyone about it before." –Natalia Faro Borges

21. "Imagine her shock when I picked up the phone, miles away in another city, and told her, no, it wasn't me."

Joegolby / Getty Images

"This one time, my mom thought I had come home, said 'hi' to my sister, and gone straight to the bathroom. My mom came in to check on me after a few minutes, saw that the bathroom was empty, and gave me a call to make sure everything was okay. Imagine her shock when I picked up the phone, miles away in another city, and told her, no, it wasn't me, because I had just left work." — Nathalia Souza

See also:

22 Unbelievable But Real Horror Stories That Will Scare The S#!* Out Of You

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This post was translated from Portuguese.