Recently, we asked members of the BuzzFeed Community to share their creepiest stories of paranormal encounters. Here are the most chilling ones:
1. "I used to work night shifts in a nursing home. One night, I called out to a resident who had a habit of wandering in the night across the gallery that overlooked the nurses' station, and she had been hurrying back and forth for a good while. My colleague next to me asked who I was speaking to, and when I explained, they said, 'Erm, really? she died two nights ago?'"
2. "When I was about 8 years old, about a week after my family’s beloved dog had died, I was home alone playing on the computer. The house was dead silent, until I heard the unmistakable sound of dog claws clicking on the wood floor in the hallway, specifically our dog. She would walk with a slight limp that created a distinct rhythm when her nails hit the floor.
"I looked in the hall, saw nothing odd then looked back to the computer, and heard it again. I even called for my mother, and there was no response. Despite the fact that our dog, assuming it was her, wouldn’t have hurt a fly, I was scared enough that I booked it out the door and went over to my neighbour’s house until my parents came home that evening."
3. "Once when my family and I went on a trip, our car broke down in the middle of nowhere. There was only forest on either side of the road and no signs of civilization for miles ahead. My mom and I stayed in the car while my dad went to investigate what was wrong — and that's when I began to sweat and have full-on chills. Moments after my dad got back in the car, I saw a sinister-looking black figure outside my window just staring at me, and then we drove off."
4. "I used to work at a small-town dive bar that was built in the late 1800s as a hotel. One night, I had let the rest of the staff go home before me, and I was closing down with all the doors locked. When I was heading out to leave, all I had left to do was shut off the light in the kitchen, but the switch was in a weird spot just barely within my reach. I missed it the first time, and distinctly heard a man’s laugh as if someone were standing next to me.
"Clearly, nobody was around, so I panicked, hit the lights, and headed for the door— but just as I had opened the door, the same voice said my name. I have never run out of a building so fast."
5. "I work as a night shift tech in a hospital. Around three in the morning, I was stocking things in a cabinet at the end of a hallway. As I was doing that, I heard a very distinct male voice chuckle from the room behind me. Initially, I thought nothing of it because patients can be awake at all hours, but then, I realized that no one was staying in that room. Immediately, I stopped what I was doing and ran. I had a coworker go back to that room with me to see what was going on, and no one was in there."
6. "I used to work in a very old pub. I was the only person left in the building one night and had to close up at around two in the morning. No windows were open, and all the doors were locked while I was sitting in the upstairs area of the bar cleaning glasses. Suddenly, the chandelier above my head started to spin, gradually going faster and faster.
"I quickly decided to get out of there, but as I was moving downstairs, I looked back and saw a young boy standing by the wall opposite the bar. Without thinking, I was going to tell him we were closed and that he had to leave, but when I looked again, he was gone."
7. "I’ve watched The Sixth Sense only twice in my life. The first time I watched it, my dad had a very severe motorbike accident. The second time I watched it, he had a heart attack. I’ve been scared to watch that film again ever since."
8. "A few weeks ago, I had to put my cat to sleep, and I decided to keep his ashes in an urn in my bedroom. Despite the fact that my house was built in the 1700s, I had never had any paranormal experiences here before this last week. For the past week, whenever I'm going to bed, as soon as I feel like I’m actually going to sleep, I hear three quick scratches right behind my head on the pillow, and it jolts me back awake.
"Last night, after what must have been over an hour of scratching noises, I actually said aloud, 'Fonz, I’m trying to sleep. Please. Stop.' And that was the last time I heard it. I like to think it was his way of letting me know that he’s still around."
9. "I had to have an emergency c-section with my eldest son, and the recovery was really rough, so I wasn't getting much sleep after the procedure. Once, I remember waking up in the middle of the night and seeing this 10-foot-tall, slim creature dressed in black with the face of a baby leaning over my son's cot, which was right next to my side of the bed. I thought it was a dream and shook my head, but it didn't go away. It turned its head to look at me. I screamed, and it stepped back into the shadows."
10. "This didn't happen to me; I was just a witness to it. My dad died in my childhood home. He was a 'Mr. Fix It' type of guy and had several tools and other things that he would etch his initials, 'RCM,' into — all in the same handwriting, carved very deeply. A few years after he passed, my mom re-married, and things started breaking down in our house — the faucets would drip, shower heads wouldn’t work, etc., and my step-dad would always fix each item.
"One day, after my mom and stepdad had been married for a while, my stepdad was fixing the lawnmower when a socket rolled from beneath the lawnmower with the initials 'EM,' which are my stepdad's initials, lightly etched on the side in my dad's handwriting. My stepdad definitely did not carve out his initials on any of my dad's old stuff. From then on out, any time he couldn’t find something in the basement, he’d say, 'Ok man, where are you hiding it?' and that tool or item would magically appear."
11. "When my sister-in-law was on hospice, dying, my husband and I were given custody of her children. During her last week, I became super sick with a high fever. I fell asleep the night before she died and strangely dreamt that I was with her in a car, laughing and listening to 'Closer' by The Chainsmokers on repeat. She announced to me that she was dying like it was no big deal — and she told me she wanted her daughter to sing 'The Cup Song' from Pitch Perfect at her funeral.
"The next morning, I went to see her, and even though she struggled to talk at that point, she grabbed my hand and said, 'Don't forget "The Cup Song,''' and then she started trying to sing 'Closer' and winked at me. She died about an hour later."
12. "Once when I was asleep, I felt someone stroking my hair. I thought it was my boyfriend, because he does this a lot, but the petting of my hair got more aggressive to the point where my head was forcefully being pushed into the pillows. I fully woke up and turned over. I saw the figure of a man slink into my closet with a creepy smile plastered on his face. I jumped up and ran out. I came back with a knife, and nobody was there. However, in the closet, there remained this horrible smell."
13. "When my daughter still lived with me, she'd spend the night at her boyfriend's house sometimes, and she'd always make sure to text me to let me know if she was. One night, I hadn't received a text from her yet, so I assumed she'd be back but just late. I went to bed and began to fall asleep when I heard the front door open and close. I'm used to hearing my daughter come in and tell me, 'Hi mum, I'm home' — but several minutes went by with nothing but complete silence.
"Because of that, I semi-woke up to see that there was a figure at the end of my bed. In a wavery voice, the figure said, 'Let me in.' I sat straight up in the bed and yelled for it to go away. The figure disappeared, and a couple of minutes after that, I received a text from my daughter saying that she was spending the night at her boyfriend's house. It then dawned on me that, I heard someone come into my house, saw something at the foot of my bed, and the whole time my kid hadn't even been home for the entire day."
14. "I was riding my bike alone at night not too long ago, and I saw what I, at first, thought was a raccoon. However, very quickly I realised it was not a raccoon — it was about 2.5 feet tall with no tail and long, completely white legs. The scariest part is that it moved like shadows do under a chairlift when you're going up a ski slope. It was under a streetlight and only about 20 feet away, so there was no mistaking whatever it was that I saw."
15. "One time, my dad and I went to ASDA to buy groceries because my mom had asked us to do so. When we got back home, my mom says, 'Where were you? I thought you both were home!' My dad explained that we went to the shop because she asked us to, but she denied that that ever happened.
"According to my mom, she was at work up until a few minutes before we arrived home, and obviously couldn't have asked us to do anything. Yet, my dad and I both remember her standing in the corridor of our home and asking us to go to ASDA."
16. "I was having a Sunday Funday with my friends. We'd only had one drink at this point, but my friend wanted to take a shot. I agreed even though I know I have a weak stomach. Right after we took the shot, I knew I was going to throw up. I went to the bathroom, and there was a girl in the stall across from me also throwing up. She said, clear as day, 'We're in this together, girl!' I laughed, finished throwing up, and went out to wash my hands. I said, 'Do you want me to get you water or anything?' No response. I went over to the stall I knew I heard her from, and there was no one there, but no one had come in or out the entire time I was in there. I can't explain it."
17. "When I was in Army training, one of the other soldiers had brought a ouija board to my room for everyone to play with. I decided to not participate because I don't mess with that shit. The four that were playing started doing the whole, 'You're moving it!' 'I'm not moving it, you're moving it,' thing. I was watching them play, and saw that the board spelt out MIK and LEG.
"Everyone got bored with it, so we all decided to go to the dayroom to hang out, but when we got there, there was a big commotion. Someone was being wheeled out on a stretcher. It was a soldier named Mike who just fell down the stairs while mopping and broke his leg."
18. "I have a chair at the foot of my bed. It’s just a place for me to throw books and other things on it. One time, around two in the morning, I woke up to see a little girl with overalls on the chair. After about a week of her just sitting there every night around two, she eventually grabbed my legs and said, 'Come on and play with us! PLAY!' I then woke up and moved the chair. It’s still in my room, but I haven’t seen the girl since then."
19. "There was once this incident while only my mom, myself, and my little sister were home. My sister had asked me to fetch her favourite overalls for her, so I went to search for them in the laundry room. While I was searching, I heard my mom talk to me from her bedroom closet, which was basically connected to the laundry room, so this was normal. I found the overalls and heard my mom say, 'Can you come here for a second? I need you.' I began to feel sick because my mom sounded weird; her voice sounded flat, like an automated message. I told her I'd help after I gave my sister her clothes, but this made her mad, and she yelled, 'Help me!', but I walked away to my sister.
"When I was walking back to my mom's room, I passed the front door and saw my mom walking into the house, saying she was just back from the store. Meaning my mom was never home. We have security cameras in the front and backyard, and they showed her walking out to the car and driving off and then coming home at the same time I walked past the door. I immediately broke down and told my mom that I had seen her all day doing stuff around the house. This day still scares me."
20. "Back in the days of dial-up internet connection, I was screwing around with a ouija board late in the night alone by the computer room in the house. Suddenly, there was the unmistakable sound of the internet connecting. I went to look, and the browser was looking up demons and witches on its own, and then printed off something about a specific warlock. It was so weird."
21. "One night, I was just getting home at around 10 or 11. Typically, my mom will still be awake when I get in, and I'll talk to her for a little before going downstairs to my room. On this particular night, I noticed she was asleep, so I quietly headed down to my room, but about halfway down the stairs, I heard this gut-wrenching voice scream my name, and I froze. I started looking around, trying to figure out where on earth it came from, before running back upstairs to check on my siblings and parents. When I got upstairs, it was completely silent. I checked everyone's rooms, and they were all sleeping soundly. I asked the next morning who was screaming, and no one had heard a thing."
22. "When I was 12, I was already living in a pretty creepy home, but the most WTF day for me was when a friend's mother drove me home to get my study books so that I could stay over at their house for the weekend. I didn't have my key, so I went to find our spare in the backyard. While walking to my backyard, my friend's mom and I passed one of the bathroom windows and could clearly see that the lights were on and hear that someone was in the shower with the radio playing. I was surprised because it was too soon for my father to be home, but I called his name anyway to ask him to open the door. There was no response, just the sound of water drops in the shower falling in an odd rhythm. Even my friend's mom shouted his name to let him know we were getting in and, nothing. I got the spare key, and as soon as I opened the door, there was nothing but dead silence.
"We went and knocked on the bathroom door, but there was no response. I decided to open the door, and we were both in shock to find that the lights were off, there was no music, and no sign of water whatsoever. My friend's mom called for me to run because she believed someone had broken into the house. She called her husband to come to check out the place, but there was no evidence of what we saw and heard. There was no sign that anyone at all was in my home. My family moved not long after."
23. "I take sleep meds, and sometimes, they give me crazy dreams. Usually pretty straight forward, but sometimes they’re a little too real. One night after taking my meds, I started to dream about work. I’m a bartender, and in the dream, I was in the middle of a very busy shift with no breaks — this is a pretty common dream for those in the service industry, but this felt different. I remember very clearly everything about the shift as if it were real. When I finally got a break, I grabbed a cup of ice water and gulped it down as fast as I could, and suddenly everything shifted into focus around me. I was actually at work. I wasn’t dreaming; I was just there.
"I don’t remember waking up or getting dressed, but when I looked at myself in the back bar mirror, I was wearing makeup and was fully ready for work in my uniform and everything. I turned to one of the other bartenders and said, 'Sorry I’ve been so out of it today' just to gauge what they saw, and he said 'Have you? I think you’re crushing it.' The scariest part to me was that I didn’t remember driving to work. My car was in the garage with no marks or dents, but this experience was terrifying."
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.