Number one I grew up in England, in a small southern town Lived there my entire life It's a sleepy place, far from the bustle of London or any other big cities When I turned 18, however, something bizarre started happening there and seemingly only happened to me I started seeing a new face around town: a man who looked to be in his early 40s His skin was pasty and gray looking. Big, dark bags hung under his eyes Even from a distance I could see that those eyes had a sickly yellow tinge to them Honestly it looked like the guy hadn't slept in years You know how some people just have that unsettling vibe about them? Well, this guy certainly had it in spades Now when I say I started seeing him around town I mean I encountered him everywhere, all the time, at least once every day or two Sometimes I'd get on a bus and he'd be there sat at the back Sometimes I'd be in a store only to look out the window and see him looking in a me No matter where I saw him, he'd always be staring at me with those wide, sickly, tired eyes He never came up to me or said anything. He'd just stay at a distance, 'examining' me I guess After staring at me for a few seconds or so he'd always just walk off along the street I ignored him as best as I could at the start, assuming he was just some new loony who'd moved to my town We have more than our fair share of weirdos here, believe me Over time his presence became more persistent I'd start seeing the guy twice a day and he'd stand there gazing at me for longer and longer periods of time Eventually I'd had enough and decided I was going to tell him to leave me alone Whenever I'd go to approach him though, he'd just quickly walk away, usually keeping his eyes on me as he did Sometimes he'd even walk backwards away from, me keeping his eyes on me the entire time as he disappeared into the crowd Even on the rare occasions that I'd run after him, I'd always lose him he'd turn down a side street or an alleyway and when I went to follow him in he would already have vanished out of view It freaked me out that nobody else ever seemed to react to this creepy man in my town I mean, aside from the tired appearance he looked ordinary enough but you'd have thought that a guy staring wide-eyed at a much younger person would have drawn some attention. It never did It was like he was invisible to everyone except me I asked my family if they had ever seen a pale, weird man around town They never had After a while I tried my best to ignore the guy. He was just some harmless old man with a social disability That's why always stares at me ominously, I thought I never saw him around town staring at anyone else though. I only ever saw the guy when he was staring at me As the months went by I started seeing the man less and less The sightings went from 9 or 10 times a week down to only 5 or 6 times, then only every other week, every other month... Eventually, I stopped seeing him altogether I figured he'd gotten bored of his little game or whatever he was up to After not seeing him for a while I forgot all about him A few years passed. I was in my early twenties and I hadn't encountered the man for a long, long time Well, one night after I'd been out drinking with my friends at a local pub, I found myself walking home alone It was sometime around midnight, maybe a little before, maybe a little after, when out of the blue the heavens opened and it started to rain extremely heavily I rushed to a nearby bus shelter, seeking cover from the rainfall This was a secluded part of my small town, right on the very edge so everything was silent apart from the pounding of raindrops on the ground and the quiet buzz of the electric orange streetlights that lit my path back home I sat there in the bus stop, waiting for the rain to ease up when, from down the path that led to my house, I heard a single set of footsteps thumping against the pavement, kicking up water that had pooled on the ground Whoever was approaching me was humming a quiet, slow paced song to themselves. I didn't recognize the tune Just another person on their way home from a night out, I thought... probably drunk Wait... There aren't any pubs or bars in that direction... The soaked figure stepped under the orange light near my bus shelter, and I could finally make out his face It was the man I had seen years before, the same dark bags hanging under his eyes He moved under the same shelter as me, stopped right in front of me, and turned to face me I was overcome by a strange sense of calm that I've never felt before as I heard him speak for the first time "I'm sorry about before. I made a mistake" "The timing wasn't right" I sat there listening intently "It's never happened before so I thought about taking you out of town for my egos sake" "But that wouldn't have been right" "So I just wanted to tell you I'll be waiting" What will you be waiting for? I asked "Next time we'll meet under different circumstances" "You'll be older. I'll be younger" "I'm not sure if you'll recognize me" I stared at him with a blank expression, not sure how to interpret his words He just smirked at me "It's okay. You won't seen me coming anyway" With that, his face softened for the first time He dug his hands deep into his pockets stepped out from under the shelter, back into the pouring rain, and continued on down the street in the opposite direction he approached me from He kept walking until he was out of sight the rain stopped two minutes later The strangeness of the encounter finally struck me. I don't know why it hadn't before I rushed home and double-locked all my doors Since that night I've yet to see the man around my town again I still live there, though I've been planning on moving for a while now The place just has this weird aura about it ever since that night I have no idea if this guy was just some lunatic who likes to play sick games on people, or if he's something even more sinister To this day I'm still waiting for him Number two I'm a private investigator in a small town in central, Ukraine For the sake of my business I can't reveal which town exactly Heck, I probably shouldn't even be sharing this story to begin with... yet here we are most of the cases I've worked over the years have been unremarkable to say the least I specialize in infidelity and spend most of my working day spying on cheating husbands and wives then reporting back to my client, letting them know whether their partner is innocent or guilty of a "double dipping" so to speak A few years back though, I worked an unusual case; one that ended up being much darker than I anticipated It all started when a husband and wife entered my office They hadn't even booked an appointment they didn't need to Just from glancing up at them I instantly knew who they were The Roshchas... by far the richest people in our area They had the biggest house, nicest car Everybody knew they were hot stuff I asked them to take a seat and tell me how I could help them "Sir," they explained to me... "It's our daughter Sofia. She's a runaway with a new boyfriend and we have no idea where she is" "They've only known each other for a couple of weeks" "They left two days ago. Look, she left us a note" The father handed me a crumpled up piece of paper It read as follows: "Dear mother and father. I've decided to elope with my boyfriend Andre" "He's won my heart and I wish to start a new life with him across the border" "I don't know when I'll be back, if ever" "Don't cry for me, for he makes me happier than anyone deserves to be" "forever yours, Sofia Roshcha" They told me this was completely out of character Not to mention the handwriting didn't look like hers at all, and the words didn't sound like something she'd have put It was all too formal They tried calling Sofia, but she never answered The family immediately went to the police, begging them to help find their daughter The authorities were strangely unhelpful. They said there was no reason to be suspicious and that the girl had just left on her own terms The family even offered to pay the cops seeing how rich they were and all, but even still they refused to look into the case And that's why they came to me. I was the only person who'd be willing to help them look for her I asked if there was anything they could give me to help me get started They gave me several pictures of Sofia and her new boyfriend, Andre, a very handsome young man in his late 20s Apparently they had to snap the picture secretly... Andre really hated being on camera "Sir, that's not all," they told me "You see, the reason we came to you specifically..." "This morning, we received an anonymous letter in the mail. We have no idea who it came from" "here..." I opened the precisely folded letter and read it: "To the Roshcha family, your daughter Sofia is in grave danger" "Andre is not who he claims to be" "The police won't help you" "It may already be too late" "Go to this man for help. It's your best chance" "Signed, a friend" The man he named in the letter was me the plot thickened I agreed to help the family, told them I'd make the case my priority They told me to do whatever I had to do, money wasn't a factor Problem was, with zero leads, It was hard to know where to start looking Turns out a lead came to me An hour after Sofia's parents left my office I received a call from a private number An unknown male voice spoke "Listen closely" "Andre will be at this location at 8 p.m" "He won't be alone. It could be dangerous" "if you go, be careful" I jotted it down the location the stranger told me; a restaurant in the nearest city, maybe a 45-minute drive away I then asked him the obvious question: Who am I talking to? "A friend" "Whatever you do, don't tell the parents" How do I know I can trust you? "I've already said too much" "Good luck" The line went cold No doubt it was the same guy who sent the letter to the Roshchas I thought about calling them, but decided to heed the stranger's warning Instead, I grabbed my camera and hopped in my car outside; drove to the restaurant the guy mentioned Made it there around 8:15 I entered and made my way to the bar, ordered a soft drink I subtly scanned the room There, on the corner table, was Andre the supposed boyfriend So much for running and eloping to another country He was sat with a girl It wasn't Sophia What the hell was this guy up to? I kept an eye on them, biding my time They paid their bill. I paid mine They left together. I followed behind at a distance. They both got into a car outside. I got into mine They had no idea I was tailing them as they drove off After about 20 minutes of driving I was startled when I saw them turn off into what looked like an abandoned factory complex Not exactly a romantic spot I pretended to continue on down the road straight, then quietly pulled off to the side and switched off my headlights I decided to get out of my car and walk into the factory grounds, not wanting Andre to know I was there too I sneaked through the gate and into the complex I watched as Andre switched off his engine outside the old factory To my surprise, two other men emerged from the abandoned building They were large and skin-headed, with a look of cruelty about them That's when I heard muffled female screaming coming from inside Andre's vehicle, which only got louder as the two men opened the passenger side door and dragged Andre's date out She was kicking and struggling as they dragged her into a black van waiting nearby Goddammit. Human traffickers I couldn't sit there and do nothing. But what could I do? I was unarmed. The only thing I had to hand was my camera I lifted up the device and covertly snapped several images of the men and their license plates The engine of the black van roared and began to make its way towards the gate I was next to Christ, if the headlights shine on me, I'm toast I turned and sprinted towards my car down the road on the left, the sound of the van getting louder as it approached me I made it inside my car The van pulled out of the complex Please turn right, please turn right Dammit, it turned left! As it came to pass me, the driver turned his head. There was no doubt he saw me huddled down in my seat He continued on a little further down the road before I saw the van's brake lights flare Next thing I knew, Andre's car pulled up right beside me. This was it. This was the end Andre looked me straight in the eyes, gave me the most sinister smile I've ever seen in my life and raised up his hand with his fingers in the shape of a gun He pretended to shoot me, then gave me a wink and drove off behind the black van I drove off in the opposite direction Of course I passed on all the information and evidence I collected to the police They paid it absolutely no attention and I immediately knew why They were almost certainly in the pocket of whatever syndicate was behind the trafficking You see, from what I know about this sort of thing, Andre was likely a "recruiter" for the organization, hired because of his good looks charisma, and total lack of conscience His job was probably to travel around to different towns and cities His boss would give him money to wine and dine the girls, buy them expensive gifts, etc He was the stereotype of what women look for in a man, at least on the surface so it was easy for him to win their hearts Then, once his prey was head over heels for him, he'd lure them to their doom... just like a human venus flytrap He'd lead them to wherever their organization had set up their temporary base of operations As soon as they got into the car with him, it was already too late for them They'd be forced into trucks, carted off to some secret location, and then auctioned off to the highest bidder Their friends and family would likely never see them again Andre was just one small cog in the machine Unfortunately, the capturing and selling of other humans is the most profitable crime there is, so even if the police were after Andre it wouldn't change much The world keeps on spinning, and for as long as it does there's gonna be evil living on it I never did find out who the so-called "friend" was who sent the letter to the Roshchas and called me with the tip-off My guess would be one of the local cops who knew something was going on He knew he couldn't intervene but felt the need to help out with the case anyway He was right though. It was already too late for Sofia Sadly the corruption just ran too deep In the end I never asked Sofia's parents for any money Ultimately, I decided to tell them that Sofia really did run off with Andre I wanted to save them from heartbreak; from knowing that their daughter suffered the worst fate imaginable I still ask myself whether I should have told them or not Keeps me up some nights Number three I'm from Ohio, but not one of the highly populated dense city areas I'm from a little town on the edge of those surrounded by cornfields It's a very small community. I Lived at home with my parents at the time. It would have been about 14 years old My mother is a very nice lady She knows almost everyone in town and has a reputation for being one of the nicer people working at the local pharmacy Since she knows everyone and the town so small everyone knows where everyone lives It wouldn't be hard to track her. We literally live a street down from the store a Man had become infatuated with her I Don't think yet hoped that they met once a week to fill out his prescriptions He offered to come over several times she Declined as nicely as possible then he got more pushy offering to take her on dates and the like My mom's married she wears a ring on her finger and is very much in love with my father Plus it's not like this guy is some sort of superstar either Usually I wouldn't go for the low blow insults. But after what he did, I'm comfortable calling him scum He's about five foot eight. Very overweight Greasy has a grey and short curly beard and the top of his head is bald He's built like your average hillbilly one that showers even less His name is Dave Now imagine it's the summer I'm home alone by myself playing online video games The windows are open the front doors ajar, the glass one in front of its closed but a draft comes in under it My dad works not too far away and I'm supposed to call him first if anything goes down This is after weeks of my mum turning Dave down Dave had shown up multiple times at our house unannounced He drove his lawnmower since he couldn't drive a car and had been begging to join my father's band My dad repeatedly shot him down every time Anyway, I'm sitting in our living room if you look out the window at the front, you can see the driveway that leads to the garage and I can hear that damn lawn mower pulling up outside and I pause everything muting my friends online praying. He just goes past But he doesn't Out of the corner of my eye and watch him get off his lawn mower He's holding something. I can't quite see I Have anxiety then at this point. I'm already scared of him He's bigger than me. And since he eyes at my mom. I'm sure he's got some gross thoughts about me, too I'm not ready to confront him. So I get up and flew to my room where I shut the door. I Can hear him trying the front door? He shouts to see if anyone's home yelling that he can see the TV's on I'm in my closet texting my dad frantically that he's here and I need him to come home and help me Then I can hear Dave climb inside through an open window He's now in the house stomping around just in the living room. I Feel like I'm gonna cry My mom never told me exactly what he needed medicine for but I know that it can't be anything good. I Wonder if he's off his meds and that's why he's gone psycho. I hear him drop something blunt on the ground And whatever it is, he's dragging it behind him and just pacing through my house It's something heavy and I can feel my blood running cold as he works his way up to my room He only door that's closed. I Tried to keep my breathing and its quietest level and for a moment. He just stands at my doorway Then he picks up the object and walks away. I Can hear him leave through the window he came through My dad replies to my message saying he'll be home any moment He's right after about five minutes of me crying alone in the closet, I hear him pull in I hear him arguing with Dave outside This is what my dad told me happened And I was pulling in when I saw Dave standing in our backyard piling some firewood at his feet He'd opened up our shed and was taking it out. I Said hey, did you just go in my house? When he turned around that SOB was holding an axe Not just a wimpy one either a fire axe And the thing was huge and it looked sharp. I Could hear him chanting something over and over and he wouldn't respond to anything. I asked him He just kept repeating mouses in the closet gonna start a fire over and over I Still feel like I'm gonna pass out. Just thinking about this story We called the police and when they came they took him away for questioning He didn't strike out violently at all. Just went into their patrol car without question He wasn't charged with anything. They just put him in a home since he's past 70 years old His brain had just deteriorated so much that I guess he thought it would be normal to drop by Never gave any sort of details about why he wanted to start a fire. I Don't know if he wanted to burn me alive in the closet and we'll set the whole house ablaze My mother of course was horrified now when customers ask her personal questions or try to be smooth she shuts them down instantly Still I do wonder what would have happened had I confronted him when he came inside Best not to think about it. I guess never saw him again It's been years, but I can't get that out of my memory mouse is in the closet gonna start a fire Hey guys Lizzie here and thank you very much for listening So, how about you are you from a small town? And do you have a scary story to share? I'll send it in to me and maybe I can read out in the next installment That is if I do a next installment of this Be sure to smash that like button and let me know that you enjoyed the video if not, well, I guess I'll be doing something else a Huge thank you to all my supporters on patreon, especially my biggest supporters Ray Price Burton moly, right Crawford came Macdonald son of the Emperor Monica Mendoza Alex greens haul Phillip Westra Gina Valera Pro Cupid I Netta John Crouch James labor crazy mask parade anime wimp Maricruz Cardano victor javier fonseca lewis sara, Ramirez kat mayor's samuel cotton andrew Romans Sloane Crawford Mitchell Alan Herrera Charles Wilson and Nadine thank you guys so much for your support It really helps the channel now what with YouTube being so anti horror nowadays. We're all getting demagnetizer left right and center So every little helps every little helps Anyway, guys, that's it for this time. Keep your eyes out for the next video and I'll see you guys very very soon until then you will stay spooky and remember the best things happen in the doll
