7 TRUE Scary Road Trip Stories | Scary Stories

a few years ago my friend tez and I set out on the great American road trip we were going to drive from New York to Los Angeles zigzagging through the country for six weeks we were both in our early 20s pretty broke end as my mom had been a long-haul trucker I suggested that to save a ton of money we should sleep in the back of our hatchback it was a pretty cozy setup we bought some blankets and sheets at Goodwill and cut one of them up to make curtains by the end of the first week we'd gotten so we could set up camp in about 10 minutes luggage moved to the front curtains up and bedding laid down and out for the night we slept in parking lots free campsites rest areas basically anywhere it was safe and semi legal there was never a night where we felt scared until the last week of the trip in Arizona we were near Flagstaff and had gotten pretty used to our routine we didn't go on a set schedule and would never drive more than three or four hours a day no destination really in mind we would drive to places we found the night before on Google and take suggestions from other campers locals and people we meet we'd also gotten very good at making friends we went to Denny's with a group of rednecks we met at a campsite in the back of their pickup we met an 80 year old cowboy who took us out drinking and taught us to line dance at a country bar played the guitar with some musicians in the middle of a thunderstorm got fed breakfast and dinner by tons of campers who invited us to hang out with them spent the 4th of July with a family who basically adopted us into their campsite basically every encounter we had with a stranger was a positive one this night didn't look to be any different we found a free campsite on Google and drove up into the woods following our GPS we're pretty far out of town and something seemed a little bit off when we pull it up to the campsite there was one RV parked and two other cars further up in the trees we pulled up near the RV and a man opened the door tez waved hello n he just stared at her his expression was completely blank then as if she hadn't said anything he just slowly closed the door again staring at us the entire time figuring he just wanted some privacy and thought we'd be obnoxious we pulled further down the road and found a flat spot to park the car instead of our usual routine of setting up camp immediately while it was still light out we goofed around for a while smoking and laughing and taking dumb photos of ourselves tez pointed out a campfire further down the campsite and we decided to go be friendly we met so many cool people in the previous five weeks by just going up and offering a beer or chatting so we wandered over near the campfire there were two men the owners of the cars we'd seen earlier they seemed friendly and we sat down to chat with them they were drinking and smoking and we sat down and had a beer with them one of the men seemed too pretty off and we came to find out that two of them didn't actually know one another the odor man was definitely on some sort of drugs he was spinning in circles and talking about UFOs however he seemed harmless this left us chatting with the younger man who claimed to be a former park ranger he was handsome and easygoing and we spent several hours just chatting about our trip families everything then he started talking about the bear he claimed that he had seen a bear earlier in the forest tez didn't believe a man he pulled out his camera to show her photos of the bear it was very close to the campsite and we were both a little freaked out it wasn't unheard of for one of us to get up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night so the idea of a bear hanging around in the night spooked us the Ranger just laughed and in his expression changed completely it's hard to describe but his voice seemed somehow cold he said if you get out of your car in the middle of the night it's not a bear you should be worried about I kept waiting for the laugh or for him to nudge tez with his elbow jokes on the foreigner and the city girl right well he never did I laughed awkwardly and made a dumb joke about serial killers in the woods my friend laughed as well and joked about Texas Chainsaw Massacre we moved on to another subject but within five minutes the Ranger had come back to it and was talking about something grabbing us from our car in the middle of the night no matter how we tried to steer the conversation away from serial killers he kept latching back on the older man was high as a kite end at this point was staring at the stars not talking we just awkwardly laugh and sip our beer and try to get the conversation going somewhere else then the Ranger stood up and walked towards the cooler to get another beer at this point it's pitch black out and I can't see anything outside the circle of life from the campfire the beer cooler was outside of that circle suddenly there's a red dot in the darkness and it took a moment for me to realize that it's a camera the Ranger is holding a camera he had taken a photo of us and I could see the screen on the digital camera lit up now it was a nod for the people we meant to ask to take a picture with us my friend tez is gorgeous dark hair blue eyes like a young Megan Fox and who were friendly people like having pictures of themselves it was an entirely strange thing to have this person taking a photo of us without asking or even indicating that that's what he was doing we were both staring at him like deer in the headlights at this point but instead of realizing what he's doing is a bit weird he checks his camera adjust some things and takes another photo this time with the flash no asking us to smile no proposing a group photo and no explanation after this photo he comes back to the fire and sits down not a word said about the photo at this point me and tez are mutually freaked out we make some [ __ ] excuse that we need to go set up our campsite and then we note the hell out when we stand to leave the UFO guy smiles and says to have a good night Ranger however it looks at us with a smile that doesn't reach his eyes and then he says y'all be careful out there there's more than just bears in the woods every hair on my body stood on end I wasn't alone in my discomfort either because tez laughed a response out and pulled me away from the campfire towards our car we rushed back to the car which we only found in the dark by referencing the RV and jump in the front seats my friend tez is all but hyperventilating why did he take a picture of us I was shaking and I responded I read this serial killers sometimes warn their victims she stared at me for a second and locked the car doors do you think he just took victim photos of us we both freaked out she's in a full panic in terms of the headlights on in the car I immediately yell at her to turn them off because now he knows exactly where our car is God knows why but and that is the only night we'd not set up camp we didn't need to tear anything down so we just put the car and drive and then floored it out of the campsite as we got into the dirt road to the Ranger was walking towards our car with that same cold expression I was 16 and on a road trip to Florida with my best friend cow and my parents we decided to stop over at a cheap motel in West Virginia to sleep for the night we go there at about 10:00 p.m. and being two teenage girls who'd been sitting in a car for the last day we were still wound up we explored running into this group of guys with thick southern accents they tried their hand at awkward teenage flirting before giving up I will never forget cows excuse for not giving her number she told them she'd accidentally microwaved her phone last month so we just parted ways knowing they were normal Alby 'it's awkward teenage boys cow and i kept exploring the motels fours before deciding to race each other down the first floors main hallway sort of right next to the lobby as we're laughing and speeding down this hallway we run past this room with the door wide open and since i was running at full speed all i saw was a bunch of shiny things all over the floor in front of and in the doorway and a big blobby bora in the middle of it all we get to the end of the hallway and ask each other what the hell that was we sneak back slow and pure around the corner and in the doorway of this room there's this really obese man lying on his stomach with his chin resting on his hands like he's trying to be cute and all around him he's got silverware and tiny metal trinkets laid out when he noticed us he smiled weirdly but didn't move anything besides his torso to face us a little better we sprint back to my parents room but they're out getting food so we're I whoa we freaked out / make fun of the situation for like 15 minutes then decide to go back down on the stairway from the second floor we run into that same group of boys from earlier one of the masks if we saw the weird guy down there and when we say yeah the guy start freaking out one of the kids tells us that his little brother had been walking down the hallway from their room on the other end of the first floor to the vending machines and that the weird guy called out to him and tried to stop him he asked him if he wanted to come in his room and offered him one of his weird trinkets the kid had the good sense to say no thanks but what the hell was the guy trying to get a kid in his room for I think the hotel manager eventually stepped in and the guy closes door I hope the kids parents complained or called the cops I was too young to realize how messed up that was so to make light of a cow and I nicknamed that guide the wiggling West Virginia spoon man made for a really wild story that no one believed when we got back to school after break in spring a few years ago I moved out of state for graduate school being new to the area and slow to me people in general I spend my free time exploring the surroundings by myself or I would drive a few hours north to be with my fiance one long weekend I decided to take a little road trip to the south coast of Oregon and do a solo overnight backpacking trip on a trail that had been long on my wish list to elaborate about me I am a sure female of slight build nothing threatening about me and am well aware that I am vulnerable when I go out alone however I have a lot of backcountry experience and have gone on many hikes before without incidents up to this point I had only positive experiences with people in the backcountry anyway I leave super early in the morning to get to the trailhead by morning I get my things together for the hike the trail is a national forest land and follows the length of a beautiful river it's popular with rafters and hikers alike this helps to make me feel at ease but something feels off this time I feel physically uneasy but I brush it off as anxiety being in a new and unfamiliar place and set off on my hike I had planned to camp at a spot next to the river about a miles in a hike the first few miles of the trail and peace passing the occasional group of hikers coming in the opposite direction it was a gorgeous day the Sun lied Apple the trail and once in a while I would get a peek of the brilliant blue of the river through the trees birds were chirping I was starting to feel more comfortable as I walked on my only concern was avoiding the poison oak that stretched into the trail and brushed my legs that one stretching the trail I noticed a man stopped about ten meters ahead of me he was looking directly my way as I approached and I could clearly see looking at me coming toward him he made me feel uneasy it was a bit odd to stare someone down like that with such intense interest when I got closer he moved to the side of the trail and abruptly turned his back and bent over as if to tie a shoe I took this as a sign that he didn't want to talk and was relieved I just wanted to get by him I greeted him as I passed he made a show of acting surprised at my presence and said oh you snuck up on me there I didn't see you this was odd because he definitely saw me but I just replied with oh I'm sorry I didn't mean to scare you he took this as a means to start a polite conversation where are you hiking today he asked oh the camp eight miles in I say there's a big group there tonight I'm coming back from that way he's average build and elderly maybe about 60 or so he's wearing a grey tank top with sweat stains under the armpits and is shining with sweat his hair is gray about shoulder length and curly rosy cheeks as I stand there he's looking me up and down as if I were a piece of meat dirty old man I think I thanked him for the helpful tip about to wish him well on his high count he continued with more questions where are you from who were you hiking with today I start a series of unwise truthful answers to his questions by telling him I'm new to the area and I'm originally from across the country though I've been living in various places across the west coast for some time when he asked where my family and fiance are I tell him back east slash up north when he asks if I know anyone around my new town I say no he asked what kind of car I Drive and I tell him as I am telling him that I am alone and my loved ones are far away and unaware of my specific whereabouts it occurs to me that I should be lying about all this stuff inwardly I'm starting to panic and I'm cursing my stupidity this guy is off these questions aren't what people with good intentions ask I start to ask him questions of my own just to stop talking about me because I don't know what else to do he's a retired fisherman from the next town over he hikes trails all over the south coast finally after about 15 minutes of conversation I say I better get going he reminds me that I should set up camp at the alternative spot he recommended and tells me what a pleasure it was that I snuck up on him he then said something that set off the alarm bells I'll be seeing you soon after we parked I can barely continue down the trail because my legs feel weak I'm holding back tears I passed one other group but I don't feel safe and my mind starts racing through my options I know at the very least I don't want to camp in any designated campsites I have a strong feeling that this guy is not actually on his way back to the trailhead and decide to get off where I have a suitable vantage point of the trail I'll hunker down there and watch for him if I don't see him I decide I would just spend an uncomfortable night in a hidden roost off trail I turn left off the trail around a bend that hit me from view for anyone walking that same direction I thrashed through the poison oak and brush to a spot among some oak trees that offered a somewhat protected spot to watch the trail I shed my gear and flattened myself out eyes on trail as I wait I worry about all sorts of things am I even hidden am I being ridiculous sure enough however I see him after about 10 minutes of my stakeout he is swiftly hiking back up the trail in the direction I was going he's looking straight ahead and doesn't see me peeking out of the trees I have another flurry of panic and uncertainty about what I should do but ultimately decide to wait for somebody to come down in the trail in the direction of the trailhead who I would then follow out in a relatively close proximity I have to wait another 15 minutes for another group to pass by before I make my way down the hillside for the high count when I get to my car I don't even bother changing out of my sweaty hiking clothing and boots I Drive straight home thankful that all I got from the road trip was some rashes from the poison oak when I was younger each summer in almost every new year my family would pack the car and go on a road trip to visit family in Mexico we never had any problems into one particular trip when I was eight like every road trip before it we left our hometown in North Texas at around 6:00 p.m. in order to reach our destination the next morning so around 2:00 a.m. we crossed into Mexico and that's when things got weird when you're on the only stretch of freeway in the middle of the desert you don't tend to freak out about having the same car behind you for miles it was practically pitch black outside our car windows the only visible shapes being the dotted stars and the eerie silhouettes of the cacti we'd been in Mexico for about an hour and still had a few more to drive and I remember sleeping but still being semi conscious of what was around me because I didn't have the skill to really fall asleep in a car so when my mother suddenly spoke my dad's name I heard her Miguel want that car behind us it's been behind us since we left Laredo my dad peeked at the car and shrugged off my mother's tension a lot of cars used this road he's probably going to Reynoso or another city and he left it at that despite his sureness my mom kept a wary eye on the car behind us by this time my siblings and I were hyper aware of the car and entertained ourselves with watching the car through the gaps in the luggage that blocked the rear window we got tired pretty quick he's getting closer my mother noted and we turned to watch as the car got closer and closer to ours he's too close Miguel and she was right by this time the car was practically pressed against the rear of our car and on a lonely stretch of highway in the middle of nowhere with another few hours until daylight it was downright scary we couldn't do much my dad didn't slow down didn't stop and he didn't speed away either he just drove in the car followed the next 30 minutes were the most tense we had ever experienced the car would ease off sometimes only depress its blinding headlights against our rear once more like he knew he was freaking us out and enjoying it it was during one of the periods that the car had pulled away that my mom spotted a police car up ahead parked on the side of the road and she didn't miss a beat pull over right in front of the police pull over right now McGill and he did and the car kept driving I wonder how confused the policeman must have been as he watched my dad park our car right in front of him the policeman came over and asked what was wrong and my mother urgently told him everything the car in the way it followed us and taunted us the police took her claimed seriously and told us about how people were victimized and had their car stolen on these empty highways by thugs and criminals and then he offered to drive behind us for a while to make us feel safe we drove off with the police cruiser behind us relieved until about 10 minutes later when we saw something that confirmed the police man's words and my mother's worst fears 10 minutes later we saw the car pulled over on the side of the road waiting I was on a cross-country road trip with a colleague we were driving through West Texas on a major highway in the area where we were even the major highway was pretty desolate there had been a truck stop or gas station about every hundred miles and every one of them was solitary with no other buildings in sight these weren't really towns the exits just places to get more gas to get to the next gas station it was pretty late at night and she had been driving for like 4 hours I usually can drive for about 8 before I'm tired out but she could only manage four or five because it was my turn again we're also getting low on gas at about 1/4 tank and you learn from road travel to fill up when you get the chance so she was looking for a gas station as we drove along it's really corny but we were talking about fate and destiny and other weird [ __ ] at the time that kind of conversation gets me keyed up and worried so I was trying to change the subject she took an exit while we're talking and I got out my coffee mug so I could fill it up for my turn driving we pulled into a typical nowhere Ville gas station just the station and a trailer out back there was another car parked in front of the doors off to one side we got out still talking and walking up to the double doors each of us grabbing a door handle the doors were locked I turned and looked around to see if there was a sign and noticed several things in succession the coffeemaker inside was halfway done brewing a fresh pot of coffee the monitors that showed the store were visible from outside where we were but all of them were showing static and there was a splash of bright red on the door in the back of the place which was closed I suddenly realized I was looking at a huge streak of blood with handprints in it every hair on my neck stood up my friend began checking the door and yelling hey we need gas but I had already turned and walked away from the doors we have to leave now I grabbed her arm and started propelling her back to the car now I noticed the other car in the lot it had no place it was dingy and had dents there was an empty gun rack in the window of it I ran to the car dragging her with me she seemed to take forever to open her door and get in the whole time she kept saying but we need gas while I try to explain to her there's blood in there blood after what seemed like a year she pulled the car out when we were backing up I saw through the windows that the back door in the gas station was opening thankfully we had pulled away before anyone came out I freaked out until we were 20 miles down the highway I tried to call the police but had no signal I didn't get a phone signal until we had driven about 40 miles and got to a truck stop again not in a town just a building of its own in the middle of nowhere I called the cops they thanked me and I never heard anything more about it to this day I feel like if I had him freaked out we probably would have met the robber or whoever was in the back room of the place I also wish I would have been able to find out what the hell happened there it was a Chevron gas station somewhere in the western part of Texas I only have a few stories that fit in this subreddit this is the mildest one this happened in 1999 and though I am from Virginia this happened many miles from my hometown and was out close to the mountains in central Virginia my friend whom I will call Tay and I had gone on a little road trip to see some caverns at 19 it was the first time either of our parents had let us drive so far from home by ourselves it was also still a little earlier than Google Maps Siri or Alexa so we were relying on old school maps there had been a few rest areas marked on the map that we'd already missed and terribly had to pee finally we spotted the welcome side of rest area two mile sign as we pulled in it was around 10:00 p.m. and there were a few other cars in the parking lot we hopped out of the van and headed in to take care of business and to get some sodas and snacks from the vending machines as we still had another 25 minutes of riding before the town we were going to to get a hotel room for the night in as we were being indecisive at the vending machines we soon noticed the cars and people we'd seen around had all left there were a few tractor trailers humming off to the side from what we remember but they were far enough to the side of the back parking lot that they never heard a scream if we had to then we see an older navy blue Chevy come sliding in through the entrance at first it's a semi relief but just a is waiting for her soda to drop by I'm watching the truck it parks right next to our van ignoring the 45 other parking spaces I still downplay that to someone thinking safety in numbers or something even though even back then women tried not to park next to vans and dark parking lots but this truck had pulled up on the passenger side of our van and as we're walking towards the van they still haven't got out tay says something along the lines of what are they up to and she was the one driving so it was I who had to squeeze between the Chevy truck and my passenger side van door and they hadn't left a lot of room I almost told hey I'm not going to do it as I rounded the back of the van and squeezed through quickly jumping up and slamming my door as if they'd grabbed me just as we walked our doors and I turned to put my seatbelt on there is a man who has hopped out of his Chevy and is standing on the little space knocking on my road up window I let out a squeal and literally lock the door in his face he reminded me of that comedian Gallagher who used to smash watermelons only he was wearing a dirty baseball cap he says something along the lines of sorry to scare you and starts rambling on teh cracks my window a bit so we can hear and he says I'm lost we're not from here I say so we couldn't be much help do you know for our tea past Petersburg he asks ignoring my original cop-out answer hey and I kind of glanced at each other because Petersburg is at least 80 or so miles in another direction so I say I don't know sir again we're not from here good luck though there's a large map inside that may help again ignoring me he suddenly reaches up and slides his fingers in the crack in my window and then starts yanking as if he's trying to break the glass in fact I don't know how it didn't give as taste arts wrestling with getting her keys from her lap to the ignition we're both panicking and yelling to stop when suddenly he does just as Taye is turning over the ignition and says in a very low growl 'voice I've drank blood fresher than yours anyway whatever and gives one more good yank as Taye is backing out of the parking space with his finger still in the windows as I'm simultaneously trying to roll up my window he didn't follow us out as we fled back towards the interstate and we didn't inform the police or our parents because we didn't want to hear any stranger danger I told you so but it was seriously creepy as hell [Music] it was summer I believe the day after the fourth of July and my husband and I were in the middle of a cross-country road trip we were driving through Texas and for any of you who may have driven across the entire state of Texas you know that it is very long and very barren sometimes we'd go hours without seeing anything at all in the towns we did pass through didn't consist of much more than a rusty old gas station in a few dusty little houses looking out the window you would swear you were just driving through the same five miles of desert again and again I had started getting a headache and my husband suggested I take a quick nap to get rid of it I remember allowing myself to doze off as I watched the beautiful colors of a desert sunset the slowing of the car woke me up and the first thing I noticed was how dark it was I believe it was around 10:00 p.m. my husband had stopped at a gas station with a small shop he told me he was going to grab us some food and asked if I needed to pee knowing I might not have another chance for quite a while I went into the shop to use the restroom both the men's and women's restroom were down a little hall from the open area of the shop I was groggy and tired and realized how badly I needed to pee so I shuffled into the restroom as I made my way the short distance from the door to the nearest of the two stalls I made eye contact with the woman coming out of the only other stall she didn't quite look homeless but she was definitely messy-looking she had wild gray hair almost shoulder length if it had him and sticking out every direction from her head that looks like it hadn't been brushed in weeks she was wearing ragged looking clothing a pair of ill-fitting black workout shorts and I remember noting her foam flip-flops several layers on top one of them being a large purple and green coat keep in mind that this is in Texas in July the jacket was just hanging on her shoulders crooked like she hadn't bothered to take a few more seconds to put it on correctly she was carrying something in a tied-up plastic grocery bag I gave a quick smile as our eyes met and she just stared at me in return then her face turned wild and intense looking her eyebrows were said is if she was angry but her eyes had a wild alive look she looked at me like she was hungry and this is when I felt the first tinge of something wrong I tried to brush it off she waddled over to the only sink and I took my time shutting the stall door because something about her posture in front of the mirror struck me as odd and I was trying to figure it out she was standing with her body more angled toward me but her face was turned to the mirror her body was tensed lake slightly crouched as if she was ready to act her hands were not up by her face or trying to fix her mess of hair or even being washed they were at her sides elbows also slightly bent I wasn't sure why but I suddenly felt uncomfortable I regretted leaving my purse and cell phone behind I shut unlocked the stall door and took my time using the toilet I wanted her gone before I left the safety of the stall I stayed there long after I finished but the woman was still there so I waited longer finally I heard the smacking of her flip-flops as she made her way to the door I heard it open and then slam closed the door was pretty heavy and had slammed the same way when I entered I stayed for a moment and allowed the wave of relief to wash over me before I reach for the walk then paused fingers only an inch from the walk I stayed as silent as I could manage to confirm what I just thought I'd heard yes breathing the woman had only pretended to leave at this point I was scared and confused why had she tricked me into thinking she only left to stick around and be as quiet as possible I knew something was very wrong so I stayed in the stall even longer and this time it must have been at least 20 minutes but I had no way of knowing for sure I could tell from the direction her breathing was coming from she had positioned herself in the far right corner right next to the door but far enough that I couldn't see her feet finally I heard her leave this time I waited a few minutes to make sure she hadn't tried her trick again I slipped out of the stall quickly wash my hands and rushed down the hallway to the store it was pitch black outside and I had no idea where she was she couldn't be far a large man was checking out at the register so I waited near a window display until he left the store and quietly slipped out the door behind him sure enough crops right outside the front door is the woman she seemed surprised as she stood and turned away walking quickly around the side of the store my husband was waiting in the car and asked me if I was okay since I had taken so much longer than usual and I said I would tell him all about it once we were away from that store the redditors that previously read about my experience had many theories but the two most common was that she was a drug either wanted to mug me or that she worked with sex trafficking I'm open to any of your theories I tried to see if there was anything in the news from around that time but I couldn't figure out exactly where we were when this happened I'm just glad I got out okay

Channel: Southern Cannibal

Views: 57,666

Rating: 4.8431373 out of 5

Keywords: scary road trip stories, road trip scary stories, creepy driving at night stories, creepy caller stories, phone stalker stories, creepy calls, scary phone call stories, true creepy neighbor stories, True Scary Stories, Christmas, True Stories, True Creepy Stories, Real Scary Stories, Storytime, Stalker, Creeper, Strangers, Home Invasion, true creepy stories

Id: yOXa40Ev_vQ

Length: 31min 51sec (1911 seconds)

Published: Tue Apr 24 2018