7 True Scary Catfish / Dating Horror Stories (Vol. 2)

[Music] Saturday nights that's amazing how much a city can change when the Sun Goes Down streets once plotted by wholesome families and smartly dressed professionals become the haunt of junkies and freaks once the Sun dips below the horizon orange street lights flicker on giving shadowy alleyways a distinct era of Menace says they're proud by drunks and delinquents quiet city quarters begin to bloom with deep bass of electronic dance music so heavy that it rumbles through the earth practically shaking the cracked concrete beneath your feet broken bottles puddles of fresh vomit and the detritus of a thousand pizza and burger boxes plastering the pavement bruised alpha egos led to a flurry of fists screaming girls and blue flashing lights never was there such a vision of chaos but that's exactly where I found myself as I was guilted into attending a friend's birthday drinking session I mean it was his 21st birthday indisputably a milestone so I thought it better to make it out for a few hours instead of staying home and sulking like some kind of wet blanket it wasn't so bad after the first couple of beers we enjoyed the novelty of getting to use real IDs instead of the expensive unconvincing fakes we'd bought from a crooked owner of a corner store I must admit to having never seen such gorgeous well-dressed women in my entire life each and every female from the waitstaff to the bar staff could have been a model and to actually have them interact with me was almost as intoxicating as the booze then I saw her and gyrating alone in the center of the dance floor was a girl with a pastel pink pixie cut and short black cocktail dress the way she moved was straight-up mesmerizing hypnotic hips that were perfectly synchronized with the booming rhythm of the music I know it's rude to state but I absolutely could not help myself despite conscious effort to the contrary my eyes were fixed on one of the most beautiful alluring girls I had never laid eyes on my buddies caught me staring and began to tease me mercilessly for it a flurry of hair ruffling and elbows to the ribs demands that I have to approach or forever be known as a coward I tried to play it cool taking a swig of my beer before assuring them that I'd make my move when I was good and ready a little confidence seemed to keep them off my back but it didn't take long before they were back at it pressuring me into at least offering her a drink dude she's at the bar now's your time go for it one of my friends pushed me towards her so hard that he almost spilled my beer and I decided it was better to fail gracefully than to risk spending the night with a shirt that wreaked of stale course I took one last gulp of my beer felt the butterflies doing loops in my stomach and made my way towards the bar at first I just pretended to be waiting for a drink as I sidled up next to her play a cool man I thought to myself having been completely unaware of just how terrifying the situation could be the anticipation I could feel my cheeks flushing pink as my palms grew clammy I agreed at her casually making a remark about dying of thirst if the overly casual bar staff would make it over here to my delight she found it amusing looking up at me with pale blue eyes she was short yeah maybe only 5 foot 1 but that only made her all the more adorable to me she had this perfect combination of cuteness and sensuality that almost every guy finds to be rapidly appealing she said her name was Katy I offered her a drink which she accepted and we got talking she said she was single that she was waiting for friends now she was kind of annoyed that they were late the conversation was casual flirtatious and only ended when one particular song began to pump out of huge industrial speakers her eyes lit up I barely heard her over the music but she said something about it being her favorite her jam as she put it and that's how it went drinking dancing flirting barely even remembering that I was only there for friend's birthday I felt almost guilty until I caught his look of approval from across the club once I knew I had his seal of approval that's when the night seriously began to take hold by Midnight's we were kissing in a dark corner as dry ice stripped in the air around us I felt like the luckiest guy in the universe especially when she took out her phone and ordered an uber to take us back to her apartment it was the first time I done anything like this in my life I was hardly the most sociable person and the lifestyle of a college-age lothario hardly seemed like my cup of tea but here I was living the dream with the girl of my dreams it felt like a perfect night it ended that way two piles of clothes hastily discarded around her room drunken giggling slurring of words as the tension built to a feverish intensity a softness of her bed sheets as naked skin touch for the first time the scent of her hair she held me close we fell asleep rapt in each other's arms the perfect way to end a perfect night I woke up alone I had barely opened my eyes before the hangover kicked in a throbbing in my skull complete with the mouth like a sand pit and a stomach that felt like it was doing backflips then I remembered the previous night's events with a smug smile leaned back against Katie's soft sweet-smelling pillows and took a moment to revel in my conquest I checked the bedside table half expecting a note explaining her absence there was nothing just then I heard the tell-tale sound of keys jiggling outside the distinct sound of a Keys sliding into a lock she's home I remember thinking as a warm smile curled my lips what I heard necks had me sitting up in bed eyes wide and full of fear it was a voice a deep gruff booming voice a man's voice the man began to call out to Katy talking to her as if he expected her to be home my heart was racing as I silently gathered up my clothes throwing them on frantically as raw fear cut through my insides like a knife this is like a bad movie unlike those bad movies where the lovable scamp is Romeo hilariously escapes from the predicament of infidelity this wasn't funny at all it was utterly terrifying any moment he would walk into the bedroom expecting his girlfriend or wife to be there only to find a half-naked interloper caught in the act I had no choice I had to hide in the only place available to me the bedroom closet try not to breathe as I stood perfectly still I found myself peeking out of the small gap in the double doors of the closet my eyes were glued to the bedroom threshold just waiting for my future murderer to walk in and sniff me out when he did it was worse than I could have imagined he was huge muscle-bound and brutish with ginormous arms that were covered in tattoos I didn't think it was possible to be any more frightened but I was wrong and the dim light of the closet that began to notice something strange about some of the clothes hanging next to me some of them look like military uniforms old musky smelling garments with runic looking epaulets some of the symbols on the uniforms were the same as those tattooed on the guy's arm nothing I could recognize but one simple was instantly recognizable an armband on one of the uniform jackets red and black with a markedly rigid white star-like shape in its center it was a swastika with trembling hands I reached up to my neck feeling the absence of a certain gold necklace I usually wear it was handed down from my great-grandfather who was liberated from Buchenwald concentration camp an utter horror it dawned on me that my little Star of David necklace one of my most prized possessions was sat on the bedside table waiting to be found I watched the thuggish neo-nazi 8th as he scanned the bedroom seeing it in his face that he knew something wasn't right a bit down on my lip to keep quiet so hard I felt my teeth splitting the thin membrane of flesh before tasting blood on my tongue this is how I'm going to die I thought a cold sweat forming as my entire body began to tremble he's gonna stomp my skull into the carpet and he's gonna enjoy every second of it after what felt like an eternity he exited the room calling out the Katy again as he began to search the apartment for her I saw my chance shaking with adrenaline I crept out from the closet and tiptoed across the room my eyes were glued to the star of david' pennant my ears straining to keep track of the neo-nazis movements through the apartment footsteps grew louder his voice grew nearer he was coming back to the bedroom in a flash I grabbed the necklace and dashed over towards the window it was a third floor apartment but the logic was simple maybe break a leg jumping to freedom or definitely be murdered by the neo-nazi boyfriend of the girl I just slept with I looked down feeling my stomach churn as the vertigo hit me twenty or thirty feet that's all bend the knees roll as you land whatever's down there is better than what that scumbag is going to do just do it take the pain and take it I told myself I grabbed a hold of the windowsill took a deep breath and jumped it hadn't have been the day before garbage pickup I don't think I'd be around to write this aside from a few cuts and bruises I walked away from the jump without so much as a sprained ankle I know I couldn't quite believe in myself I honestly thought that was too hopped up on adrenaline to feel the pain of whatever bone I'd broken but I guess I just got lucky later that year in a college classics lecture our lecturer got on to the subject of The Odyssey he described Odysseus and his crew of sailors sailing home to Ithaca and encountering a group of sirens on a rocky cliff they sang to the sailors luring them in with their beauty drawing them into dead rocks hidden among the waves our lecturer continued to describe how those poor doomed sailors wandered so blindly to their fates in that moment I knew exactly how they felt I know what I am I know I'm a bad person then to tell the truth I don't really care the world spins to the rhythm of exploitation as a sad fact so why should I be any different why should I try and be some Island of principle in a sea of abuse and manipulation it's people's own fault if they have too much money or if they're too lonely if people weren't so dumb or desperate there's no way what I do would work besides if it wasn't me doing it someone else would step up and take my place over the past few years I've made thousands of dollars off the backs of pathetic gullible men and women who think it's possible for love to bloom over a fiber-optic cable I am a catfish and this is my confession so here's the deal first thing you need to do for any successful catfishing operation is building a fake but convincing profile on Facebook or Instagram whatever medium you choose finding pictures of a suitable girl is pretty hard they need to be cute not too sexy and they can't be anything that day reverse image search will find your best bet is to use a pre-existing profile steal the photos and then put a block on the original profile once your catfished profile is up and running the next step is choosing the right mark first you don't just pick one rich looking dude and focus all your attention on them the key is picking four or five guys and working them all at once even if you can only milk like a couple hundred dollars from each of them that adds up pretty quickly you can't pick anyone too smart or anyone too dumb too smart they'll figure you out in a day or two too dumb and sometimes they can't even manage to set up a PayPal account or even remember their bank account details this is where I messed up it was my first and last poor choice of mark that has led me to type up this fashion I can't give out this particular guy's real name but we'll just call him mark pun very much intended mark was unusual from the beginning he didn't seem like the kind of guy who had a lot of cash but as I said that doesn't really matter sometimes catfishing is accumulative not quantitative I gave him the usual sob story telling him how I only needed a hundred dollars or so to pay rent before Christmas December is by far the best time to pull off a catfish scam to all that Christmas spirits so ready to be taken advantage of he can spin all kinds of tales about needing money to buy presents for poor impoverished relatives I also did the usual thing of promising some kind of meat up a line about how a guy as cute and generous as him couldn't possibly be single that line always slays flattering goes a long way when conning someone high self-esteem can blind a person from their own mistakes I must admit though I was shocked when my PayPal balance suddenly jumped up to $5,000 the payment description just said mark I knew he'd fallen for the profile but but the thing he had so much cash on hand just to throw away I was amazed obviously I wrote a long fake thank you message to him filling it with overly emotional hyperbole about how he'd save Christmas for my whole family my curiosity piqued however I had to ask him what he did for a living that would explain such in Norton it amounts of money he said he sold things from the dark web this is where alarm bells should have been ringing for me he had mentioned that he was good with computers how he could fix my laptop if I ever needed it for free - but I'm no tech nerd I had no idea anyone could be so proficient with electronics so when I finally decided to cut ties with mark and make off with my earnings I figured that was that usually guys are too ashamed to have been tricked to actually take action they just quietly try to forget about being scammed in the sleaziest way possible but like I said mark was different a week after I deleted the catfish profile my phone buzzed as an incoming message arrived in my inbox I took out my phone confused to see a message without a number or ID attached to it I couldn't immediately see what the message said either the number had sent over pictures so that the alert simply said something like restricted caller has sent a picture when I opened it there's and my arms began to stand on end I know it was you it was a screenshot someone had written the words with pen and paper took a photo and then sent it to me I suppose I had been waiting for something like this to happen it's not like I hadn't gone through the process in my head I would simply deny deny deny I feigned ignorance and replied with something along the lines of who's this they'd never be able to tie the catfish profile to me at least that's what I thought front door came the reply that got me worried I tried to rationalize the messages telling myself it must be a wrong number or a friend of mine with a new number or something a few of my buddies knew what I did to earn cash and they didn't complain so long as I spread the wealth I figured it must be one of them pulling some kind of prank on me someone more relaxed I wandered downstairs towards my front door it's one of those with a warped glass pane in the middle so you can see if there's anyone on the other side no one was there at least no one was there in that moment curiously I opened up the door scanning the street for signs of anyone nothing then I looked down on the ground just in front of me were two pieces of raw bloody meat I remember being grossed out initially maybe one of the neighbors cats had gotten a little too bloodthirsty on one of its nightly hunts but on closer inspection I recoiled in horror it was a heart a heart that had been sliced into I could clearly recognize the distinct change in thick flesh that we had learned about in high school it didn't even occur to me that it could be human it's pretty easy to get a hole of pig or lambs heart from a local butcher I just kicked the pieces off of the front step making another quick scan of the surroundings before returning to my bedroom it was definitely one of my friends playing a prank on me and there was no other explanation back in my bedroom I was setting up a fresh facebook profile for my next catfish when suddenly my mouse stopped working I wiggled the thing around but the pointer still didn't move it was just about to check the USB connection when the mouse pointer began to move on its own I watched in confusion as the pointer opened up a Word document closing all other windows except one an internet browser I have no trouble admitting that I was terrified by the time some phantoms seemed to type out a sentence before my very eyes I know what you did and you're going to pay someone had taken remote control of my PC the internet explorer opened up now a web page loading instantaneously as if queued up to do so what appeared was a grainy video of a guy kneeling on some kind of jungle floor a trio of men spoke Spanish behind him all wearing military camouflage one guy took out a machete slapping the kneeling man a few times before he began to I know what it was the page was blog del narco the man was about to be executed don't look away and the words appeared in the document as if by magic I didn't even see them being typed out this time I watched as the man in camara says machete and began to hack off the kneeling man's head I tried my mouse again suddenly losing patience and turning off the whole PC at the plug then the phone call came I can't talk about what happened next mark doesn't want me to give away how he was able to find me how he was able to do that to my PC but I'm supposed to inform all of you that I gave back his money every penny of it I swear to God I will never ever catfish anyone ever again there are people out there who have the will and the means to find people like me and who also have the powers to punish them it took me a while to type this out as I'm still recovering from the final payment that mark demanded it was an easy choice though when he told me how he could hire an addict to kill me for considerably less money than I stole the terrifying reality of the situation hit home this was painful to write out I feel genuine shame just please remember not everyone on the Internet is who they say they are some people are even more terrifying than you can possibly imagine [Music] I grew up in Bristol a beautiful but small city in the southwest of England settled by the Romans over a thousand years ago people have made their homes on the banks of the River Avon ever since we get our fair share of crime much like any city but my life in Bristol had been a quiet one nothing terrible ever happened in her neighbourhood but nothing too wonderful ever happened either it was a quiet life a good life until I met a boy that would change how I thought of the world for the rest of my life guys tend to think dating is easier for girls they think we hold all the cards and we can have our pick of the bunch with that simply not true we have just as much trouble finding a suitable partner it just happens to manifest in other ways I wonder if guys have any idea how difficult it is to find someone who's romantic but not too clingy who's engaging but aloof I know I might be searching for someone that doesn't exist but a girl can dream can't she I think that's why I was so excited when I met Nathan he was everything I ever wanted in a guy he was handsome funny and smart he also had this smoldering look about him that sounds crazy to say it now but I wanted someone a little dangerous not actually dangerous but you know someone who gives off that kind of vibe without being an actual psycho Nathan exude that to a tee he had these dark circles under his eyes and this silent manner about him that was kind of scary but I found him anything but he was so sweet when you penetrated that daunting veneer the honeymoon period lasted a few months Nathan was a few years older than me and I had a part-time job so naturally he spent a lot of his weekly wages on dates together we would catch a movie grab a burger then spent an hour - making out in the nearby park as the Sun went down sure things were getting pretty serious but I wasn't quite ready to go all the way with him not yet anyway that's where things started to unravel he would become increasingly pushy demanding it's even found that sways into our tax normally he was so nice and charming sending me messages in the morning wishing me a great day but more and more the texts were graphically explicit the kind of things I really didn't want to wake up to first thing in the morning I confronted him about it asking him to maybe tone it down a little since I wasn't always in the mood to be lewd over the phone this only made him sad he apologized and promised he wouldn't do it again it was easy to forgive him with him saying things like you make it so hard for me to behave it was flattering I admit it he made me feel desirable after a while I decided that I was about ready to take our relationship to the next level that was a virgin at the time but the more I thought about it the more I decided that it was the right time I was 18 after all most of my friends had done the deed I was practically the only one left naturally Nathan was delighted to hear that I was considering that sort of thing they began to make all kinds of plans about getting a hotel room or waiting until his parents went away for a weekend we could have some space to ourselves just to spend some time alone it sounded romantic but his ideas his fantasies they got weirder and weirder the more time went on I mean I knew he was kinky I was into it but the things he seemed to have in mind went way beyond just a few harmless bedroom games it seemed like he was excited by the idea of control of corrupting something I got the idea that he saw me as a representation of all that was innocent and corruptible that I was not until so by the time he mentioned something about tying me up and leaving me in the bathroom as some kind of slave I openly objected I replied to the message saying that I thought we were moving too far too fast his demeanor changed completely he got angry he asked me if I even wanted to be with him if I wanted to make him happy it was a long tiring of a text message that made me tear as I read it he went from angry to downright abusive calling me frigid and boring that someone as tedious as me could never satisfy someone like him I remember lying in bed crying my eyes out black mascara tears staining the soft pink pillowcases we didn't talk for days and I thought that was best that it was the right thing to do to let the situation calm itself down a little I was still really upset he'd never talked to me like he did when we had that fight he was always so sweet and caring it disturbed me that he could change so dramatically I wondered if I'd seen another side of him but when I saw him in public with another girl after only a few days of us having argued I was heartbroken it seemed like any other Saturday morning as I headed out to meet up with friends in Bristol city center I caught a bus for the short journey down to a high street art ihling the time by texting my girlfriends trying to work out how I would approach the Nathan situation I had no idea the problem would be resolved just moments later there he was leaning against a phone box some black haired girl fawning over him just as I had done months before at first I thought I was too horrified to approach him a sick feeling in my stomach keeping me grounded to the spot but when I saw him lean over and kiss her outrage soon took over a boiling indignation that I had never felt before or since I bawled him out right there in front of his new girl I know I must have made a scene but I didn't care I had been wronged and I didn't care who knew it the new girl just stood there shocked to the core while Nathan gave as good as he got he cursed me out in turn repeating all the stuff he'd spouted during our initial argument I told him to have a nice life turned and walked away through hanging out with Nathan I had gotten to know his little sister rather well Rebecca was his only half-sister but their parents been married for years and by that point they were just like any other family at least it seemed that way she was a few years younger than myself but she had a kind of maturity about her maybe from having grown up so fast thanks to her parents divorce maybe from just being the kind of girl she was and of curiosity I texted Rebecca asking her what she knew about this new girl her stepbrother was seeing she didn't reply I tried to call her but her line went dead and I got the answering machine this was the final straw to think that she had sided with her Idiot Brother there was no way she knew the whole story but that didn't matter to me by then I just deleted her and her brother's phone numbers and decided simply to move on with my life I didn't think about either of them until some shattering news hit the airwaves I will never ever forget the morning I saw Rebecca's face on the news it says she was missing the police were appealing for information regarding her last-known whereabouts I was absolutely horrified for her Rebecca or Becky as we sometimes called her just wasn't kind of a girl who would just up and run away something had happened to her I just knew it when the news broke that Nathan himself had been arrested in connection with her disappearance the whole horrible affair unfolded before our eyes that November a jury convicted Nathan and his new girlfriend of the murder of the stepsister the court heard that they had conspired to kidnap Becky to use her as some kind of slave instantly I thought of the message that he had sent me that night telling me how he wanted to use me for the same purpose my parents and I were watching a news reports on the murder when I heard the details the entire community was shocked by the grisly crimes I burst into tears running to my bedroom as my concerned parents followed I told them everything now I had been the girlfriend of the murderer we had just been watching how it could have easily have been me that ended up dismembered with a circular saw some people think dating is easy for girls but let me tell you for some of us it's not just tough it can be deadly [Music] tinder a poisonous cesspool of lives and prejudgment somehow straddling the dead ground in between apathy and desperation the ultimate set of first world problems being casually ignored by a girl who sees you as little more than a back-up plan figuring out a potential flame was only after a free plate of Korean bvq at least that's what I thought until one particular profile happened to find its way in front of my thumb her name was faith she was beautiful rich ebony skin and deep golden-brown eyes her hair was perfect marvelously aesthetic girls that tantalize the eye as they fell pharmacy graduate trying to make the world a better place her profile read to think that she was intelligent and idealistic to boot all my reservations were washed away as I swiped right feeling a spark of excitement in my chest despite my initial enthusiasm mine was well practiced at pushing my help for potential dates to the very back of my mind tinder can be terrible in a person's self-esteem so for the sake of my own mental health I didn't really think about the perfect girl's profile Don a few days later my phone vibrates against the hard wood of my bedside table a harsh buzz that echoes around my weary skull and never fails to wake me irritable II I rolled over in bed grabbing the offending device to see who was evil enough to text at such an ungodly hour it was a notification from tinder I had a match with tired but curious eyes I unlocked my phone waiting for the app to open so I could see - I had matched with what I saw made my heart skip a beat it was her it was faith I left out of bed bounding downstairs to make myself a coffee I had to wake myself up I had to be lucid enough to think of a witty opener maybe a joke or a compliment anything that would make a good first impression on the girl I found myself fawning over I decided to just be polite she was obviously something of an early riser so maybe some morning well-wishes would serve me well good morning I'm guessing you're up early for work hope you have a lovely day my heart was practically pounding by the time I press send my head spinning with hopelessly romantic ideas so my absolute joy her reply was fast good morning to you yeah I keep you to work so I get up super early kind of busy right now but I'll message you later xxx I couldn't believe it she was utterly charming I struggled to hide my delights as I completed my morning routine we talked for a few days sharing interests and telling each other of our worst tinder experiences my dating app regrets were forgotten in the midst of those rolling conversations eventually we arranged a Sunday dinner date to add a little Vietnamese place I knew of the food was phenomenal and it never failed to impress but I must admit to being incredibly nervous in the run-up to our meeting when the time came I shaved put on my best shirt in the classiest Cologne I could find before walking down to the Vietnamese place it was a few blocks away but I found the walk helped calm my nerves and it gave me time to decide which anecdotes I would break out to combat lols in the conversation walking into the restaurant I saw her immediately she was radiant she stood out from the medley of people's so much that my eyes were instantly drawn to her she smiled I smiled I felt my cheeks turn a shade of hot pink it was even more magical than I imagined I helped her choose a Vietnamese dish that wasn't too spicy she helped me hold chopsticks like an actual grown-up she was complementary and an excellent conversationalist every minute and her company was a leisurely breeze until it came to her family well I was actually born in Zimbabwe though I grew up not too far from here she said with the same cute smile she had in a profile picture oh really Wow did your parents work over there or something my dad works for the government over there but he travels a lot to a lot of different countries as part of his job she said her smile fading slowly as she spoke he has a hard job I think so anyway he is to make very important decisions so naturally he's under a lot of pressure Jesus sounds like he has a pretty important job he does and naturally he gets paid very well it's something our family is very grateful for we've always been very privileged in that respect seeing the way some people live in Zimbabwe has always kept me humble gun she was so thoughtful and world wise I found myself staring into her beautiful ochre eyes as she spoke of her extraordinary life so what exactly does your dad do for the government it's he like a minister or something I asked after two bowls of chicken pho arrived at our table he works in security her stutter had me paying extra attention he was one of the top police officers in the country until an incoming president gave him well a lot more responsibilities well that sounds fantastic he must be quite a man he was shall we say tough to live with I think that's why my mom had a sense of school here in the US he could be kind of mean sometimes but he's my dad so I love him all the same how about you what are your parents still it was obvious she found the topic awkward and her question to me was little more than a tactical subject change still we continued on the subject for a while I talked about my mom and dad what they did for a living we told each other little stories tried each other's food the whole thing was just fantastic the best date I've ever been on the night ended with us agreeing to see each other again and I was elated but then a couple of days go by her message replies were arriving later and later and so one day they simply ceased I was desperate not to come off as needy or desperate so although it took all the will I had I didn't send her any follow-up texts the next week I had a particularly bad day and the whole thing was weighing on my mind I broke I typed out a lengthy message about how although we've had fun that night I was disappointed that she had just ghosted me I said something along the lines of hoping she was okay and to get in touch if she wanted to go out again still trying to call back what I thought was my dream girl this time the reply was instantaneous only it didn't come from faiths number it came from a restricted one restricted was all that read along with a message that was as confusing as it was mysterious don't try to talk to faith anymore forget her I immediately hammered out a reply and who is this exactly I was horrified when it occurred to me that this could be her boyfriend that the sweet thoughtful girl I thought I knew was some kind of unfaithful liar but again the reply arrived in mere moments when I read made my blood run cold it was my address house number street name in the zip code I rushed to the window scanning the dark streets and parked cars for any sign of someone watching me there was nothing just dead silence and the empty moonlit street how'd she know where I lived and just to when God's name was texting me the pure fear I didn't send faith any more messages after a while of considering approaching law enforcement about the situation I decided that the most likely explanation was that she really did have a boyfriend it's not uncommon for girls to use tinder to cheat I figured maybe I was just lucky enough to have been that guy however just last week I found my mind wandering back to that wonderful dinner date at the Vietnamese place how nice it was even if it didn't bloom and anything I happen to know faiths last name and although I'm not proud of this I decided to look her up on social media and everything was gone her Instagram had vanished no more Facebook profile her Twitter handle came back with nothing I decided to Google her name again nothing I scoured the search pages for something anything that would inform me of her fate but it was like looking for a ghost only I did find something an article about a Zimbabwean politician that had recently captured the presidency in a bloodless coup he had cracked down on his political rivals torturing and murdering thousands while subjecting prisoners to horrendous forms of torture he also had a name that looked very familiar the article went on to say that he had appointed his children to positions of power within the country's security services and there were rumors that some of them even presided over advanced interrogations that use powerful narcotics to secure confessions needless to say my jaw was dropped pharmacy graduate my dad works for the government over there he's in security he could be mean sometimes I took my phone out remove the SIM card and then flush the small piece of plastic down the toilet I took a walk around the block checking for idling cars than down to the narrow River near my house or I tossed the cellphone into the running waters on the walk back I thought of faiths deep brown eyes of how she used her chopsticks expertly while eating her noodles I thought of the sweet innocent young woman I thought I had come to know and possibly how wrong I had been about her [Music] we've all had bad dates you know the kind halting awkward conversations between two people whose attraction bloomed from a liquor bottle a girl who orders too many expensive cocktails a guy who won't shut up about how great he is we've all been there I mean sure not all dates are terrible some are filled with magic and mystery genuine charm and captivating conversation this was not one of them I met Isobel on plentyoffish what I assumed was a more sophisticated version of tinder I've been out of college for nearly 10 years so I figured that superficial hookup culture was not for me she seemed cool and creative and artsy type who seemed as interesting as she was principled we'd a little back and forth at first and despite our interest being somewhat divergent I am NOT in the visual arts at all we got along swimmingly it wasn't long before we were arranging drinks at a local dive bar she said was cool it was one of those warm summer evenings perfect for a few drinks in a casual stroll I wandered down to the dive bar expecting her to be fashionably late she didn't prove me wrong but when she finally did arrive she looked absolutely stunning an elegant vintage coat made her look like an old movie star her bangs hung delicately above shining green eyes we exchanged greetings I bought her a drink and we got to talking it was only then that I began to notice a rather putrid smell hanging in the the dive bar was a little grimy I didn't assume it to be spotless but the funk that now offended my nostrils was unbearable it's not like something rotten like decaying organic matter a sweet tinge to an otherwise unworldly stench once we finished the first round of drinks I left at the chance to move to another venue she seems slightly confused but she agreed when I mentioned that I knew of the best French brasserie in town just a few blocks away I had assumed a girl as passionate and artistic as her must have been vegan or at the least vegetarian I was elated that she wasn't the waiter set us down in a candlelit table for two offering to bring over a wine carafe of our choosing I opted for the red but visibly winced when the same gross smell wafted around the table I remember asking if she could smell something her eyes were blank as she answered in the negative to my absolute horror I realized the smell was coming from her there was no way that she was not able to smell that sickly rancid scent unless of course she was the source of it like when you eat too much garlic and are totally unaware of how much it reeks on you Jesus Christ I remember thinking how could she not smell that she began poring over the menu musing aloud over what kind of dish she would be feeling all I could do was look her over wondering just how someone so pretty could tell at the time I figured it must have been some kind of embarrassing medical condition and I instantly felt guilty for judging her so terribly but when the friendly young waiter came bouncing over to take our order I knew something was terribly wrong I'll never forget what Isabelle said as she smiled up at the waiter from her seat so I see you have the food evoi Lyonnaise could you all be onion some potato puree oh and ask the chef not to cook the meat if that's okay I was certainly no expert on French cooking but look on the waiters face said all he needed to know he looked like he was trying as best as he could to keep a blatantly disgusted look from his face you you want the liver raw he asked she just nodded the same pretty smile on her lips he then turned to me I just shook my head and told him I wasn't hungry I was still in complete disbelief at how the date was unfolding the only thought in my head consisted of me sprinting out of the restaurant into the nearest cab the girl was nuts when her dish came the waiters seemed to be holding the plates as far away from himself as he could manage he shot me a sympathetic look as he presented her with her chosen meal and I tried not to acknowledge it I didn't want to embarrass her sure she was repulsive but I wasn't a jerk at this point I didn't think the date could go any worse she seemed nice but God that stench I get that people have strange diets all kinds of food fads sweep across the world wide web but I'd never ever heard of anyone who a draw organ meats with their hands it was mortifying diners who were already repulsed by the foul odor were now utterly disgusted with the way she ate picking up the slimy dark-colored meet with her delicately manicured fingers she tore at it with her teeth ripping away chunks of meat that oozed blood as she chewed I had already decided to feign some excuse for why I had to leave early I mean I would have just walked out of there but I'm not afraid to admit that by that point I was kind of frightened of her it would be absolute folly to offend or annoy someone who ate raw meat with their bare hands I tried not to watch her as she finished off her meal ordered more and more drinks from the young waiter who seemed only too happy to increase the size of his tip by medicating me with vodka and orange juice after enough booze I finally had the Dutch courage to throw in the towel and call time on the date I made something up about needing to go home and feed my dogs she said she loved dogs and would be only too happy to help feed them my heart sank she clearly wasn't ready for our date to end I added something about having to work in the morning and she countered with an offer to make me all the coffee I wanted I went from being slightly worried to downright frightened she had this look in her eyes one where you could see all of the pupils God it's hard to describe now just trust me that she looked insane as she stared over the table at me i plate Lee declined paying the bill in cash before I offered to get her a cab I avoided eye contact at this point trying not to show her how nervous I was I flagged down the nearest cab and tried to remain a gentleman as I open up the door for her are you sure you don't want to come back to my apartment with me she asked before we climbed into the back seats visions of Filth and rot flashed in my mind as I tried to picture the place this girl lived at God knows what kind of horror lay in store for me there um no I'm good thanks though I said finally beginning to lose patience but she said as she licked her lips the smell of raw flesh wafting into my nose I immediately slammed the taxi door turning my back on her and just walking away I never ever wanted to see or smell Isabelle again [Music] being single sucks on Valentine's Day it sucks even harder when you work in an expensive fine-dining establishment on the edge of Boston Common bussing the tables of happy doting couples who are fawning over extravagantly plated dishes you try to ignore their little displays of affection focusing on your work instead of being consumed by feelings of jealousy and disdain don't get me wrong number 9 parks is a great place to work the tips are killer but it's still utterly depressing so on the run-up to this past Valentine's Day I made myself a little tinder account complete with a witty description and a few choice photos at first swiping through endless faces was almost as soul-destroying as working a Valentine shift almost every profile either smacked of depression or dripped with vapid arrogance but I soon found myself matching with a couple of attractive local girls as well as a few out-of-towners studying at Boston University one girl in particular was simply stunning her arms were covered in nautical tattoos intricately colored octopi and jellyfish while captivating hazel eyes shined almost as bright as her dyed orange hair mary 27 her profile read be my valentine now as a lot of you may know you have to have pretty thick skin to use tinder slowly but surely my matches replies dropped off as their interest waned some even laughed and unmatched me when I said I wouldn't be able to make a Valentine's Day dates until after 10:30 p.m. when my shift finished but Mary never ever failed to reply sometimes within seconds of me sending a message granted her responses tend to be mono syllabic almost shy but she was seriously enthusiastic about the idea of getting together she said she got lonely on Valentine's Day that she needed me to be there for her on that night sure it was unusual for me to get such attention but as I said it sucks being single on Valentine's I met her after work at a little late-night place in Chinatown the kind of stereotypical Asian place adorned with outdated chinoiserie among a sea of red velvet she said she liked the garlic noodles there so I figured it'd be a surefire way of getting her back to my place afterward Mary was even more beautiful in person albeit with a melancholy look about her as she sat alone at a small table for two waiting for my arrival I opened up with an apology hoping she hadn't been waiting too long it turned out she was just as shy in real life as she was online she barely spoke and when she did it was just the odd word I reminded myself that it wasn't exactly charisma that I was looking for but it didn't matter how shy she was right now just that I could get her back to my place after a few drinks we ate in silence which didn't bother me too much since I was absolutely famished from a long tiring shift occasionally I would catch her staring at me her expression blank and emotionless any other time I might have considered it creepy but let's just say I wasn't quite thinking straight thanks to the prospect of getting laid for the first time in a while once we'd finish I paid the bill tipping the Chinese waiter generously on previous dates and always try and impress the girl in question with a generous tip usually they're pretty impressed by the gesture associating it with kindness and thoughtfulness but Marie didn't even react she just kept staring at me across the table her gaze unflinching as the waiter reached across the table in front of her we were walking along Boston Common back towards my apartment when she finally spoke she asked me if I knew the story of st. Valentine the painter in st. who the festival is named after and remember shaking my head only too happy to listen to her now that her shyness seemed to have abated quietly in a voice barely above a whisper she explained that st. Valentine was executed by the Roman Emperor Claudius for Marian Christian couples in secret on the outskirts of Rome I actually thought this was kind of romantic at the time I tried to lighten the mood by mentioning just that but she didn't react she just carried on with the story she grew a little more animated as she exclaimed that once Claudius had heard rumors that Christian converts were a festering in the city suburbs he ordered them to be hunted down and punished for their heresy Praetorian guards 'men the most loyal of the Emperor's soldiers scoured the city for Christians horrific ly torturing prisoners to extract extensive confessions when such confession led to the home of a man named Valentine who when tortured himself revealed that not only had he pledged fealty to the one true God but that he was sanctifying marriages of local couples in the name of Christ enraged the Praetorians dragged Valentine into a local square before summoning the townspeople to witness the execution it was messy violent truly horrifying to watch the Imperial soldiers sword was blunt and almost a ceremonial addition to his uniform it reportedly took a long long time for the soldier to hack off the head of the confessed Christian priest after he was beheaded the st. Valentine ascended to heaven as a blessed martyr enter the gates of paradise with his own bloody head cradled delicately in his hands kneeling before the gilded throne Saint Valentine presented Christ with his own severed head a symbol of the pure love and devotion that led to his martyrdom I was impressed I had no idea that such a brutal story was behind such a saccharine cliched holiday I remember turning to ask her how she knew such a thing when I was met with the gaze that sent a chill through me she then told me that she had always wondered what it would be like to be the recipient of that kind of love and devotion in the kind that could lead someone to see their own death as little more than an act of loyalty and worship and service of someone they truly loved it was at this point that I began to actually feel unsafe around Mary I have since had friends tell me that I shouldn't have been such a wimp the girls that are a little crazy tend to be the best in the bedroom but they can't understand the sense of imminent danger I felt as mary's hazel eyes were fixed unblinkingly on mine we carried on walking as I rack my brain for an excuse to get home alone and I eventually settled on something involving having to be up early for work I knew the line didn't work she didn't say a word to me as I flagged down a cab and helped her into it I told her I'd call her but it was like she could smell the untruth like this had happened countless times before and she could recognize the pattern but it didn't end there she's been following me for weeks I made a complaint to Boston PD but the officer taking the report was practically laughing as he wrote it out no one believes that this girl could be dangerous but you can imagine how terrified I am when I walk out of my apartment building and see a stuffed animal sitting on the porch alone Valentine's card sat next to the teddy bear a message written as some dried dark fluid as they open the card I begin to feel the intense metaphysical sensation of being watched from somewhere be my Valentine it read [Music] the year was 1978 roman polanski had recently fled to france after pleading guilty to indecent acts with a minor serial murderer Ted Bundy was found and arrested by Florida Police the hillside strangler another killer local to my hometown of Los Angeles had just claimed yet another victim found stuffed into the trunk of an orange Datsun that seemed no coincidence to me that I was turning 18 becoming a woman just in time for all the evil in the world to rear its ugly head the peace and love of the 60s were long dead replaced with envy and lust it wasn't about smoking to relax anymore it was about doing coke and fighting for shooting up to forget the pain of the Paradise Lost California was supposed to be the promised land manifest destiny but all I could see was corruption decadence greed and death I know I was a cynical girl but those were just the times Americans had only recently withdrawn from Vietnam the Watergate scandal was fresh in our memories people didn't trust the government or each other there was a big black cloud hanging over the country no one seemed to be able to escape it and then I met Rodney he was tall tanned and outrageously handsome when I first saw him I legitimately thought he could have been an up-and-coming movie star long quaffed brown hair framed a strong caramel toned face with deep brown eyes that seemed to emanate too masculine broodiness when he told me that in his deep smooth voice that he originally hailed from Texas I almost swooned I had grown up on cowboy movies and Rodney seemed to embody that kind of border town exoticism that I had so romantic eyes during my youth I was overjoyed when he asked me out he was a little older but that didn't bother me in the least bit he was everything I ever wanted in a man and it blew my mind that he seemed to be so into little old me a man like that needed a queen and if that Queen was to be me then who was I to give it a second thought it was a Friday night when he picked me up from my parents house and his old Chevy my father eyed him suspiciously from the kitchen window as I made my way to his car I just thought it was sweet the old man was protective of me and that just made me feel even more special and there I was newly 18 and I had just bagged the hottest guy west of the Mississippi it was a teenage dream the first thing he did was apologize for any nasty smells that came from the car he said he'd hit a deer earlier in the month and still hadn't quite gotten rid of the odor the only thing I could smell was the rich had a scent of his Cologne with a twinkle in my eye I told him everything smelled just fine we drove around for a while just talking and swapping stories while we cruised all over downtown LA he drove us to a quiet little spot on Venice Beach produced a joint and we smoked a little before engaging in a long sensual makeout session he was a little rough at one point biting my neck so hard I winced in pain but it was all just so intoxicating he was so manly and wonderful I didn't dare say anything for fear of disappointing him we arranged another date as he drove me home I suggested we hit the beach during but he shrugged off the idea I tried convincing him to accompany me on a lunch date but again he brushed off my suggestion they only seemed to want to do something in the evening nighttime is the right time then remember him saying is the Chevy idled in the street outside my house that's when things really happen when the darkness surrounds everything when shadows rain God he was a poet to me yeah I was naive some people might even say plain dumb but I had never ever had a guy talked to me like that after the guys at my high school could barely string a sentence together let alone spin words like pure gold as Ronnie did I must admit I was excited when Ronnie pick me up the next weekend drove us out to a secluded spot in the pines out near Hidden Springs I wanted all of us attention every iota of it this seemed like the perfect time to get it we were in another of our heavy make-out sessions when Ronny began to get a little rough again gentle roaming hands began to intrude and prod I could feel his fingernails raking against my bare skin it hurt almost as much as his teeth did when he nearly sank them into my flesh I tried to tell him to stop to slow down but he just growled and silenced me with a kiss so hard and made my lip bleed I wasn't enjoying it anymore he wasn't so caring and gentle anymore I could see another side to Rodney and I didn't like it at all then before I could even react his hands were around my throat squeezing and choking I've never been so completely terrified in my entire life the Rodney I had thought I knew was gone his eyes were black now as deep in lifeless as the void I gasp for air feeling the life draining from me as that black eye devil loomed over me from the driver's seat my eyes begged him silently to let me go just as I was about to pass out his face seemed to register a kind of guilt or remorse he panicked and let go of me leaving me coughing and spluttering for air clawing at the passenger's door handle he apologized profusely telling me he didn't know what came over him I made him drive me home before telling him that I didn't want to see him anymore I just couldn't see him in the same way he frightened the literal life out of me I thought about going to the cops but I was embarrassed ashamed that I had been foolish enough to allow myself to be so mistreated a few months later I had almost forgotten about Rodney I was dating another guy one not as exciting or mysterious but one that I knew wouldn't have it in him to put me in such danger I was sat with my mom watching an old favorite of our shows the dating game over a couple of TV dinners Jim longe wore his trademark Beatles haircut along with those horrible flowery ties he was so insistent on wearing for those of you that aren't aware of the setup three mystery bachelors are shown cloaked and shadowed before a bachelorette is presented to the audience the mystery men are then illuminated as she begins to ask them a series of comical questions this addition however made my skin crawl the studio lights came up and there I kid you not was Rodney the same gorgeous hunk of a man that I had first laid eyes on in that LA street in the same man that had nearly strangled me to death in the passenger seat of that old Chevy 69 it made me sick to see how relaxed and Cavalier he was sitting there like he was God's gift answering all of those poor girls questions she couldn't even see him let alone recognize him for the predator that he was what's worse he actually won the show The Bachelorette picked him over the other contestants tears spilled my eyes I had to bite my hand to keep my mom from seeing how upset I was I wanted to get in touch with the girl to tell her everything that had happened to me to warn her not to go out with Rodney during the night time he seemed to thrive on but I don't know part of me thought he might have changed part of me wanted him to have change so he could once again be the dream guy I had always wanted but I was wrong Rodney hadn't changed he gotten worse on June 20th 1979 a twelve-year-old girl named Robin samso of Huntington Beach was declared missing after failing to show up to a ballet class listen two weeks later her corpse was discovered in the hills that surrounded La Ronnie James al Kaka was arrested in connection with her death it was not the first time Ronnie had taken a life a timeline of events would reveal that at the time I was dating him Ronnie had already murdered five or six young women often after plying them with marijuana just to see it done with me I consider myself a survivor I don't know what it was about me that made Ronnie let go of my throat that evening what was different about the events that led him to spare my life maybe it was that encased in the shell of a monster there was a little piece of humanity still left in Ronnie's heart just as in every decent person there is a little kernel of evil lying dormant a small piece of evil just waiting to be woken up hey friends thanks for listening be sure to subscribe and click that notification bow to be alerted of all future narrations if you got a story be sure to submit them to my subreddit our let's read official and give and receive feedback from the community and maybe even hear your story featured on next video enjoy my discord to interact with me and other listeners directly and if you want to support me even more grab early access to all future narrations for just $1 a month on patreon and maybe even pick up some let's read merch on Spreadshirt links in the bio thanks so much friends not feel that giddy feeling in your Tumtum

Channel: Lets Read!

Views: 424,401

Rating: 4.8256631 out of 5

Keywords: catfish stories, true catfish stories, true dating stories, dating horror stories, true scary stories, true scary stories from reddit, true horror stories from reddit, subscriber submissions, scary true stories, reddit scary true stories, true horror stories, scary stories, horror stories, true stories, scary horror stories, stories from reddit, lets not meet, reddit, lets read, asmr reading, asmr sleep, ASMR, true creepy stories, creepy stories

Id: ehPUMXXymsI

Length: 66min 50sec (4010 seconds)

Published: Wed Mar 20 2019