Let's Not Meet: A True Horror Podcast - 12x05: Cute Without The E

Episode Date: January 29, 2024

Stories in this episode: Large Scary Man "Alone" in the Woods | Thesilphsecret (0:41) Approached by Armed Creeper on Rural Track | Serious-Cow-2026 (9:30) I Met a Future Murderer When I Was a Child | myyykie (17:47) Car Accident Turned Creepy Encounter | pothosbabebelikov (25:24) Man Followed Me Home, Roommate Came to the Rescue with a Knife | Nectarine313 (32:04) Very Unsettling Encounter with Stranger at My Door | vanillaave (38:41) My True House Cleaning Horror Story | Greatone198 (43:51) Cute Without The E | Buff Orpington (48:27) Due to periodic changes in ad placement, time stamps are estimates and are not always accurate. Extended Patreon Content: The Art Teacher | TYtrack2018 Nightmare on Halloween Eve | Ru "Wait for it..."  | Fennel The Interloper | Maxwell My Mom's Creepy Coworker | Julie Get access to extended, ad-free episodes of Let's Not Meet: A True Horror Podcast with bonus stories every week at a higher bitrate along with a bunch of other great exclusive material and merch at patreon.com/letsnotmeetpodcast. This podcast would not be possible to continue at this rate without the help of the support of the legendary LNM Patrons. Come join the family! All of the stories you've heard this week were narrated and produced with the permission of their respective authors. Let's Not Meet: A True Horror Podcast is not associated with Reddit or any other message boards online. To submit your story to the show, send it to [e-mail]. Check out the other Cryptic County podcasts like Odd Trails and the Old Time Radiocast at CrypticCountyPodcasts.com or wherever you get your podcasts! - Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/433173970399259/ - Website - https://letsnotmeetpodcast.com/ - Patreon - https://patreon.com/letsnotmeetpodcast - Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/letsnotmeetcast/ - Twitch - https://twitch.tv/chipschicken   

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Try four weeks free! Details at accessstorage.ca. Shop Canadian, store Canadian. Music This happened around 10 years ago, give or take, about a year, in New York State. My friend Craig and I made plans to go hang out with our friend Jeremy and his new girlfriend. Neither of us had worked the next day so we grabbed some beers and made our way to Jeremy's mom's apartment complex where Jeremy was temporarily staying. When we got there, we went out into the woods behind the apartment complex to chill and drink. This wasn't just a little patch of trees, it was a pretty decently sized patch of forest. It was a nice fall day,

and it was late afternoon, so the sun was still out. We finished the beers that we had, and we decided to go get more. So we left, went to the store to get some more beer, returned to the apartment complex, and re-entered the woods. When we got back, the daylight outside was right at that stage where it started to very quickly fade. Craig, Jeremy, and I underestimated how dark it would be once we were back in the woods, and we underestimated how quickly the sun was setting and how fast the light was fading away. We planned on building a fire, but didn't realize how dark it would be by the time we got around to doing so. We walked into this area that was sort of a

clearing. From there, several trails split off, so we had a few options to choose from on where to go. We were having a good time laughing and talking when something in the not too far distance caught my eye. It was too dark for me to tell, but I swore that I could see a very large figure. No, I thought to myself, that's too big. It's probably a tree or just your eyes messing with you." As Jeremy continued, gabbing in the background, I subtly asked Craig if he could see something standing in the forest up ahead. Craig responded, No, where? And after taking a better look, he continued, Oh wait, there. Oh, shit. look he continued. Oh wait, there. Oh shit. We continued walking, but it was becoming clear. I was not seeing things after all.

There was a very large person standing in the forest just up ahead, facing us. I tried to get Jeremy's attention without clueing the big guy in on the fact that we noticed him. I wanted to err on the side of caution just in case something sketchy was going on, as I had a serious feeling that there was something up. Craig and I told Jeremy that there was a person up ahead, but Jeremy was in this jovial state and exclaimed, holy shit, is that big foot? We humored him and laughed, but it was evident to me and Craig that this was actually a creepy and probably not very safe situation that we were walking into.

It was clear that Jeremy was not understanding this as his perception was vastly different. By this point, we had gotten too close not to acknowledge him. This was partially because it took me and Craig a moment to get Jeremy's attention, and partially because we weren't trying to turn around and run like we were scared. There were four of us and one of him after all. But this was a very big guy.

He wasn't supernaturally or artificially big, and it wasn't like he was jacked or anything like that. He was just a genetically gigantic dude. He was very tall and sturdy without being hefty or bulky, and he was just standing there in the middle of the forest, in the dark, all alone. As we approached this guy, I said hello, Jeremy being the absolute fool that he was got way too close to this guy's personal space. He enthusiastically told the guy that he looked scary here in the woods alone. I thought you were going to jump up and scare us.

Then Jeremy used his hands to mime an extra set of teeth coming out of his mouth like a xenomorph from the Alien movies. He was all up in this guy's face. To be clear, Jeremy wasn't trying to be intimidating or a jerk in any way. I guess he was trying to be friendly. He genuinely thought that he was joking around with this guy as he literally leaned into him, doing his impression of an alien. I need to mention that Jeremy was kind of a moron. I love you Jeremy, but truthfully, you were kind of a moron. Jeremy's poor girlfriend, who was a few years younger than us, was very shy and clearly terrified. Another detail to which Jeremy was also oblivious.

So Craig and I were both standing there, trying to brainstorm a way out of this situation. We knew that Jeremy would be too dense to get it if we said we had to go. He would say something like, what are you talking about? We just got here. Are we in a building fire? Saying anything deflective was too risky. And we were just trying to seem confident and in control of the situation. The big guy finally said, you guys drinking. I got some drinks too. Then he walked over to the tree line where he had a bag leaning beside a tree and he reached into the bag.

He grabbed a beer with one hand and sneakily pulled something else out of the bag with his other and placed it in the pocket of his hoodie. I was convinced this was some kind of weapon, maybe a knife. He then re-approached us and cracked his beer open. I glanced around casually and I noticed something else. Somebody else was out there. There was someone slowly and quietly moving along the tree line to our left. This second person was a relatively good distance away, but I saw them.

They were circling as though they were planning to come up behind us. I couldn't help but think, fuck this, I need to leave now. So I said, well, I got to work in the morning, Craig's driving me home, so we gotta head out of here. Jeremy, reacting exactly as I expected, replied, What? You didn't say you had work tomorrow.

I internally face-palmed so hard as I sighed. No, Jeremy, you misunderstood. I said I do have work tomorrow. Then Jeremy, proving there's no end to his wisdom, said, All right, guys, well, it was nice hanging out with you. Get home safe. Turns out he didn't think he was going to leave the woods with us. As Craig and I started walking back, I told him about the other person circling to get behind us and I said that we needed to move.

We quickly brainstormed on how we were going to get Jeremy and his girlfriend out of there and decided to call him. We told him that his mom was out in the parking lot looking for him. Craig explained that Jeremy is terrified of his mom, so we figured that this would work. We knew that we couldn't even lay out the details over the phone because he would just say something like, what are you guys talking about? This guy isn't sketchy at all. I feel totally safe. We took the mom approach and our excuse to get Jeremy out of the forest worked. Jeremy was very

mad at us for lying about his mom, but I think his girlfriend appreciated it. I'm not sure what was going on out in the woods that night. I've talked to several people about it over the years, and there have been a few different questions floating around. Did the two of these people see us when we were initially out there and assumed that we were coming back? Were they waiting for us? or did we nearly stumble into something that we were not meant to? Almost everyone I tell this story to says that we accidentally interrupted a drug deal, but something about that doesn't seem right. In any case, it was very creepy and very scary. I just thought that I would share. I'm from Aria Roa, New Zealand. We have the occasional missing person case or scary case around these parts, but otherwise

it's relatively safe and not much happens. As a 19 year old girl, I feel comfortable walking the streets at night by myself or going on hikes alone because it's pretty safe. And generally, everyone looks out for each other. This happened in the summer of 2019. My boyfriend and I were headed out on a picnic date to a spot that we had visited plenty of times, the Karakariki Track. This place is located at the end of a very long windy rural farm road off of the State

Highway. Basically, you drive about 15 to 20 minutes from the main road and then down a long rural stretch. Then it ends with a large cul-de-sac and a massive farm surrounding the area. The track is about a 15-minute walk away from the cul-de-sac slash car park. The owners of the land where the track is located have left it open to the public as a nature reserve because there are native trees and other plants and wildlife unique to the area. There is also a small waterfall that you can swim in. The track is very popular and it's one of the closest swimming spots to the nearest city, which is Hamilton. This area is very scenic.

You cross suspension bridges, pass by creek beds, etc. The farmers who own the land still come around to do their farm work and maintain the grounds. There are fenced off areas that the general public cannot enter as they still actively work on the land. On this day, my boyfriend and I were very happy because it was empty in the parking lot and it was an excessively hot summer day. This place would generally be packed on such a warm day, so this was rare. When we arrived, we saw one of the farmers crossing the cows through the gate on a quad.

As we got out of our car, he smiled and waved at us. He was an older man, and we had spoken with him before as we were regular visitors. We immediately set off towards the waterfall. We crossed the suspension bridge and passed through a big paddock of cows. The track is quite narrow, and the creek is right off the edges so you have to be careful as you're walking. We saw the waterfall but ultimately decided against swimming as we had no towels so we headed back in the direction of the car park.

On our way back, we decided to go down a steep gravel off-ramp on the track that led to a more private and tree-covered area right by the creek. After we settled into a spot down there, I lay on my stomach reading a book while my boyfriend sat up and played on his phone. We were there for about 10 minutes before I turned and glanced up the gravel path way up further on the hill. Through one of the farmer's gates, I saw this big man on a quad bike who I didn't recognize. I only knew of the old couple working the land, so it was a little unexpected to see him on the non-public side of their gates. He was just sitting there staring at me and my boyfriend.

I don't want to even think about how long he had been there before we noticed him. I told my boyfriend and as soon as the guy saw that we were both looking at him, he opened the gate and started heading down the hill. This guy came down the hill and the gravel incline and ran his quad right up through the creek He got off of the quad but left it running as it sat in the water He was talking by himself saying things along the lines of fuck. I've messed up my quad my engine is fucked Over and over again. My boyfriend and I were gathering our things to leave, but he started to head toward us.

He didn't even make small talk, which was really strange. He asked, have you guys seen any fish? I'm looking for some fish to kill. My boyfriend told the guy that there weren't any fish in the creek and it's fresh water. He told the guy that he could probably catch some eel. This sent him into a fit and he grumbled, I don't want no fucking eel. I want to kill some fish. As I was finishing packing up, I was trying not to look at the guy in the eyes as I didn't want to draw the conversation towards myself since I was already

extremely freaked out and I mean I really didn't want him to notice that I was freaked out. Thankfully my boyfriend is calm and strong when it comes to interactions or encounters like this. I bent down to tie my shoe and when I stood up, that's when I saw a pistol on the man's waist. This was the first and only time in my entire life I had seen a gun in real life. It's incredibly hard to obtain a firearm in New Zealand, especially after the regulations following the mass shooting in Christchurch. Not only that, he had a pistol on his belt and another in his hand that he was waving about as he spoke to my boyfriend about wanting to kill some fish.

He was aiming the gun in his hand down to the creek every now and again, but he kept taking breaks from that to swing it around his finger. My boyfriend gave me this concerned look. Concerned is the best word for it because the look told me a million things in that moment. Then he subtly nodded his head towards the gravel path leading uphill back to the track. I grabbed the two bags that we had, pretended to check my phone for messages and told the man that our family was waiting for us back at the track. I grabbed the two bags that we had, pretended to check my phone for messages, and told the man that our family was waiting for us back at the car park. He completely ignored what I said and deflected. That's a cool hat you've got on.

I chose not to engage and dismissed myself before saying goodbye and starting to make my way to the gravel path. As I was walking up the hill, the guy told my boyfriend, That's a real pretty girl you got there. My boyfriend quickly responded, Thanks, we'll be off now, and then headed up the gravel path behind me. The guy continued talking as if the conversation hadn't ended even though we both said our goodbyes and headed out He just stood there gun in hand Gabbing away and watching us leave

As soon as we were around the bend we sprinted all the way back to the car park where there were over 10 empty gun shells On our way out we ran into two girls who were just arriving and informed them about everything. They got in their cars and left immediately. We tried to go to the farmer's house to ask if he knew the guy, as we had never seen him on their land before, but they weren't home. This incident has stuck with me for the past few years and my boyfriend and I have not been able to return to that spot. It sucks because that's where we had our first date, so it's a sentimental place for

us. I had to drive past the road leading to the track for about a year as I commuted between towns and it always made me feel sick. I could have lost my life or my partner that day. I'm always extremely grateful that my boyfriend is the man that he is and was able to steer us away from that guy. He knew how to communicate with me through his expressions and subtle movements to guide me as I was in my freaked out state. How can I help you? I'm looking for a Rio Bell Touchless Kitchen Faucet in Brush Gold. Do you have it in stock? Yes, we actually have all the gold faucets in stock.

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Make space for all your treasures and belongings with Access Storage. Create space in your garage, your closets and your basement. Create space for living. Access Storage has flexible and portable storage solutions at a location near you. Store belongings you love and need extra space for. Try four weeks free. Details at accessstorage.ca. Shop Canadian, store Canadian. This happened when I was an angsty teenager. I moved in with my mother and stepdad to escape a less than desirable situation. Because of the move, I had to enroll in a new school. This school was located in one of the sketchiest neighborhoods in the city.

Everyone who resided in that area was relatively low income, my family included. We had a rec center near where the school was that was a hot spot for teenage boys who wandered over from the nearby high school to cat-call girls. During my time at this school, I made an eclectic group of friends. There was one friend in particular who became my best friend. We'll call her Blondie. I was a people pleaser and Blondie took advantage of that. She was nice enough, but she was problematic. Regardless, we were fast friends, and thus began our very short-lived friendship.

Over the years, she mainly came over to my house since I was an only child. Plus, we usually had the house to ourselves when my folks were at work. Then she finally invited me over to her house around the middle of the school year. I was very excited. I wanted to meet her family since they were such an enigma. Blondie wasn't one to divulge information about her home life.

All I knew was that she lived with her mother, stepdad and younger sibling. It was nice that I finally had the honor to meet them, and honestly, her family was amazing. They were kind and treated me well. Not to mention, her stepdad was a phenomenal cook. He made some of the best food I ever ate. After that, I started going to her house more and more, and I enjoyed it. Well, fast forward a month or two before the end of the school year. It was Blondie's birthday. Her family was throwing a little get together at her house and I was invited.

Blondie and I headed to her house after school and we had a great time until the end of the day. Now, I knew next to nothing about her biological father. I knew that he wasn't really in the picture, but he would sometimes drop by and say hello. I had never met him personally, until he made a surprise appearance at Blondie's birthday to give her a present. We were all in the living room eating some cake and there was a knock at the front door. Blondie's mom answered the door and her face quickly shifted from a nice smile into a scowl. If looks could kill, the guy on the receiving end of that scowl would be dead.

She moved aside and the man walked in. When I tell you that there was a shift in the atmosphere, I kid you not, I immediately felt it. Even as a generally oblivious teenager, I knew that something was up. I'll never forget how everyone in the room got tense, except for Blondie, who excitedly greeted her dad. At the time, he seemed like a normal guy with a bit of a creepy side, but I didn't want to judge him. Blondie introduced me to her father and we exchanged some pleasantries. At one point, I was invited to get some ice cream with them the following day, which I

accepted, saying yes to free ice cream was a no-brainer. The conversation with Blondie and her dad went so smoothly that it caused me to quickly forget about the visceral reaction everyone had upon seeing him. I honestly didn't even think about that until after I agreed to go out to ice cream with them. Maybe if I remembered sooner, I would have said no. Her dad eventually left and everyone else resumed eating cake. The following day rolled around and I went for ice cream with Blondie and her dad. I can't remember much about that day other than the fact that he had asked me if I had a

boyfriend or a girlfriend. This made me feel strange but I gave him the benefit of the doubt, hoping the question was just innocent. I went out with him and Blondie a few more times before my dad moved to another city and we lost touch. Fast forward a few years later, I was attending college. I had managed to stay in contact with one person from my middle school days. Let's call her Teddy. Teddy had reached out to me one day, asking if I wanted to go to a movie which I happily

agreed to. Her invitation had perfect timing since I needed a little pick-me-up. A film with an old friend was exactly what I needed. I took the train to the nearby mall where I met up with Teddy and watched the movie. Afterward, we headed to the food court and got something to eat. We were catching up, as it had been a couple of years since we last saw each other. Teddy suddenly parked up and asked me if I heard about Blondie's father. I told her I had not been in contact with Blondie since I moved.

Teddy's face tensed up as she told me that Blondie's father had murdered a woman. He got away with it for two years until his truck finally got him caught. There was something unique about the truck that eventually linked him to the crime. Teddy couldn't tell me much more because she didn't know anything else, but this was still the most mind-blowing story that my little brain had ever heard. I remember going back to my dorm and trying to Google more details, but I couldn't find a damn thing. I eventually forgot about it until just last year, 2023.

I was speaking with a friend when I suddenly remembered Teddy's story. After some digging, I finally found an article that described the crime. I clicked on it, and when I saw the courtroom pictures of Blondie's dad, well, words cannot describe what I felt. Everything Teddy told me was true, but it was so much worse than what she and I thought. Out of respect for the victim and her family, I won't describe what he did, but he was arrested three years after he had done this. He was charged with manslaughter and he took a plea bargain.

He only served half of his 14-year sentence. I looked him up to see if I could find out any more information about him, and I found that he was released from prison just a few months ago. And then, he killed another woman. From what I've read, this murder had similarities to the other murder that he committed. This time around, he was charged with second- degree murder and indignity to a body. Both of his victims were mothers. They were both cruelly taken from this world and I still can't wrap my mind around all of this.

I met a monster. I went out for ice cream with him. I was best friends with his daughter. I can't even imagine how Blondie must have felt after her father was convicted of these crimes. I wish I had an update on Blondie, but she has a different last name than her father. I've never been able to find her online or reconnect with her, but I leaving my friend's house. I accidentally backed into a brick mailbox in front of her neighbor's house. My bike rack hit the mailbox so my car was okay, but the mailbox was completely demolished. I figured this was no big deal. This was why

we have insurance, right? I knocked on the door and told my friend's neighbor what happened. I gave them my name, phone number, and insurance information. All I got was his first name, Robert. From the get-go, Robert was very creepy. He utilized my number often, trying to hit on me and trying to date me. He kept specifically expressing an interest in, quote, feeding me. He was completely fixated on trying to get me to eat food with him. By

the time Robert began texting me about repairing the mailbox, he was insisting that it would be better for both of us to just pay out of pocket for it. He sent me a link to a company that said that they could fix it for 500 bucks. He also demanded that I go on a date with him so I could give him the cash that he needed for the repair and yet again emphasized that he could feed me. I don't know what his deal with food was. He was always bringing up food. I declined everything and started to get annoyed by his constant texts and calls. In the next couple of days, every time he texted me, I only responded with, please contact my insurance company. But he continued reaching out to me.

So I told him, you're harassing me and blocked him. He immediately started texting me from a different number and threatened to report it as a hit and run to the police. Now, I'm in law school. I knew that this was not a hit and run, so I blocked his second number without responding. He then texted me from yet another new number and asked me if I wanted him to send video of the accident to his insurance company. This made me angry, so I called this number.

I remember digging my nails into my thigh so hard that I drew blood. I was so mad at him for threatening to report a hit and run. I was mad about the unwanted attention and his continual efforts to ask me out on dates and feed me. I was mad that he was trying to convince me to pay out of pocket instead of going through insurance. When he picked up, I screamed, Don't contact me again, you piece of shit!

And with that, I blocked the third number. The next day, Robert reached out again and told me that I had given him the incorrect policy number. I told him, I didn't. He again insisted that it would be easier just to pay cash. He was talking to his insurance and began trying to validate my info. He had my mom's name, address, and phone number. I verified everything and told him not to contact me ever again,

and I blocked his fourth number. The next morning, I woke up extremely early to a text from him that basically said, he's finished making the claim. He told me that I was awful for making it harder than it needed to be by going through insurance and refusing to go on a date with him. He concluded by saying, you're so beautiful, but so ugly at the same time. Keep not taking risks and stay on the good path.

Goodbye. This was so off-putting, but I still didn't respond. I was feeling scared. I decided to block this fifth number. Then midnight rolled around and he texted from a sixth number. Are you up? I know where you live. You're not going to screw me over on insurance.

You should have just gone on a date with me." I showed the messages to my dad. He's a pretty scary dude. He called Robert from my phone. Robert answered, Shoot. I knew you were into me. Wanna come over? My dad got very mad. My dad said this was beyond harassment and gave Robert his final warning to stop contacting me. My dad said that we didn't care how he reported it, he just needed to leave me alone. Then Robert tried to tell my dad that I came on to him, and after that, he was instantly

blocked. The next day, we talked to our insurance company. We also talked to the police and got a protective order filed. I received another text telling me that I shouldn't involve the police. I blocked this seventh number, notified the police, and stayed at my dad's since Robert didn't have that address. Or so I thought. Then one night, as I was staying over there, I was watching Star Wars with my dad and my

older brother when the doorbell unexpectedly rang. My dad opened the door and it was fucking Robert. He had a trash bag filled with things that I, quote, left at his house. My dad went ballistic and I called the cops who arrived and arrested him. What was in the trash bag, you ask? lingerie, a knife, lip balm, and a fetish book. After he was arrested, he was charged with stalking, trespassing, and felony assault since he tried to push my dad. Another charge was added on for insurance fraud since he lied about the accident to his insurance

company. He was also charged with possession of a deadly weapon with intent to injure due to the knife that was in the trash bag. After speaking with an attorney, I found out Robert doesn't even own the knife that was in the trash bag. After speaking with an attorney, I found out Robert doesn't even own the house that he's living in. It was also discovered that he's living in the country illegally, and he's now being deported. I'm returning to the out-of-state college I'm attending soon,

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Bel Air Direct, insurance simplified. I'm a female and this happened to me when I was 22. I'm now in my 30s. At the time, I was preparing applications for grad school. Each evening after work, I would go to the local university library and I would stay there to work on them until closing, which was 11pm. I took the subway to my neighborhood and decided to make a quick stop at the nearby 24-hour grocery store to get some things for a late-night dinner.

After I bought my items, I went back outside and waited at the crosswalk for the light to change so that I could cross the street. At least two other people were waiting at the crosswalk as well. Even though it was late, it wasn't uncommon for other people to be out as I lived in a major metropolitan area. Then suddenly, a man came running out of seemingly nowhere and he stopped and stood right next to me. He was middle-aged, about 5'7", had a slim build. I thought that maybe he ran because he wanted to make sure he would make the light

and not miss the chance to cross. However, as we were crossing the street, I noticed that he started to make some odd movements with his legs. I don't really know how to describe it, other than to say he was kind of tripping himself and drastically slowing down. This caused him to go from walking in front of me to being directly behind me. I have a very petite infeminine build. I looked very young and was clutching library books in my arms, but I'm also a black woman. I truly thought that he was scared to have me walk behind him. It never even entered my mind that I would be the one in danger. I simply noted his behavior, laughed it off, and then forgot about him.

On my walk home, I passed a small convenience store that I frequented for expensive, fresh produce that was also open 24 hours. I decided to make a quick stop there to get a few more items for dinner. I was in the store for maybe five minutes and had forgotten all about that man from the crosswalk, but then when I exited the store, he was standing outside. I was so startled. It was evident that he had been waiting for me. My heart started to pound in my chest as I shifted into survival mode. As soon as I passed him and continued walking home, he also started walking, following right behind me. I could hear his steps and sense his presence staying close behind me.

I thought to myself that I needed to make sure that he was actually following me so that I could plan my next moves. I could see the entrance to the subway just ahead of me so I decided I would duck into the subway station to see if he followed me in. More importantly, if he was following me, I figured I could ask for help from the ticket collector. Unfortunately, when I went into the station, the ticket collector was not in the booth and the station was completely empty. I spontaneously decided to hide against a wall that was to my left. This wall could

not be seen from the street entrance. About thirty seconds later, the man walked into the station so nonchalantly that he was almost skipping. He walked right past me since he didn't see me hiding and headed straight for the turnstile as if his plan all along was to take the train. Then, right at the last minute, before he entered through the turnstile, he looked behind him and he saw me, standing against the wall. As soon as he saw me, he stopped, turned around, and walked back out of the station. Once he saw that I wasn't really going into the station, he realized he no longer needed to go down to the subway. That's when I knew I was undeniably in danger. I took out my phone and

called my roommate, Tim. I prayed that he was home and able to pick up my call. And when he did, I explained in a panic what was happening. Are you home? Can you come get me? I asked. Tim asked me if the man was still around so I carefully peeked around the wall to look out into the street. And there he was, standing, smoking, and laughing with some other guys. He was literally making friends as he waited for me outside of the station. I told Tim yes, the man was still there.

A train must have arrived downstairs in the subway because at that moment there was suddenly a bunch of people coming through the turnstile and exiting the station. Tim and I agreed that I should leave the station in this crowd of people, stay on the phone with him, and he would meet me on the street. Our house was only a five minute walk away from the station, and we lived on the same street, so we were essentially walking toward each other. When I left the station with the crowd, I had to pass the man. He saw me in the crowd, and I saw him throw down his cigarette.

I heard him tell the men that he had been talking to that he had to go and continued to follow me. I told Tim what was happening since we were still on the phone together. I tried to walk as quickly as I could, but there was snow and ice on the sidewalk. All the while, I knew that the man was behind me, but I was too scared to look back to check. It felt like an eternity, but I finally saw Tim walking toward me on the sidewalk. Tim and I were both young, but Tim, who was 20 at the time, is tall, over six feet. I felt a wave of relief as he came to my side.

He told me that he grabbed a knife from the kitchen to defend us just in case. We quickly walked to our house, which was just up ahead. We went inside quickly and locked the door, keeping the lights off. We looked out the window for the man, but I still think about it from time to time, and it still creeps me out. I'm a male, and I was 21 at the time. I had just moved into a new apartment on the first floor of a building that backed into the woods. It was late one night, and my roommate was out when somebody knocked on the door. This wasn't uncommon, we were in college,

and my roommates had friends that would come by and hang out all hours of the day. I just figured it was one of his friends so I got up and checked the peephole. Staring right back at me through the peephole was an eyeball pressed against it. This is also something that one of our friends just might do to be funny, so I chuckled as I opened the door. I was surprised to see a man in his mid-twenties whom I didn't recognize standing there. He was strange to say the least. He was very upbeat and immediately launched into this door-to-door salesman type of pitch. I can't remember exactly what he was selling, but it was something that pertained to the local university, which I also attended at the time. The whole time he was talking,

I noticed that he kept looking past me into the apartment. He was fidgeting and even standing on his tiptoes to see past me. I clocked all of this, but I just thought that the guy was weird, and maybe he was just nervous. I politely declined to buy anything from him, but he wouldn't take no for an answer. I finally had to be pretty stern in telling him that I wasn't interested. He finally accepted defeat, and as I was closing the door, he put his hand out and grasped the door frame to stop the door from closing. Before I had a chance to be like, what the fuck? He smiled at me and said, I like Mario Kart on Nintendo 64 too.

My roommate and I had been staying up late into the night playing Mario Kart 64 for the past several days, but there was nothing that he could see from my apartment entrance that had anything to do with Mario Kart. The Nintendo 64 in my games were in my room, which could not be seen from the front door. I was taken aback and tried to add things up in my head as I asked, how did you know I play Mario Kart? The guy got very nervous and he tried to materialize a response. He stammered, oh, I just thought that anyone with a couch like that would be into Mario Kart on Nintendo 64 because you know,

it's like a retro game and that's a retro couch. What kind of explanation is that? I thought. He said, okay, bye and literally just scurried away. I shut the door and locked it, still trying to piece together how he could have known that because obviously it wasn't my grandma's old couch that linked him to Mario Kart 64. My roommate got home shortly after that and I immediately told him about the odd encounter. He was freaked out as well, and we started investigating.

At first, it seemed as if there was no way that he could have seen inside my bedroom. It wasn't visible from the front door, and didn't seem visible from outside since my blinds are always down. We went outside and discovered that it was possible to see into my room through the blinds if you had your face pressed right up against the window. Here's a few more details. My window was over a balcony and the Nintendo 64 console itself was inside of the TV stand so it wasn't even visible. This means that you would only be able to see that we were playing Mario Kart

if we were actively playing, which we never did until we were stoned and it was 2am. So basically, this fucking creep had been jumping the railing onto our balcony, pressing his face against my window and watching us play Mario Kart in the middle of the night. Needless to say, I was pretty paranoid for a while after that. I constantly checked my window and kept jolting awake in the middle of the night, paranoid that he was standing just a couple of feet away, watching me sleep. Although this was unsettling, I'm glad that it was just an isolated encounter. I'm glad that nothing more ever came of it.

I never saw him again, but I've always wondered what his motives were. This happened over seven years ago. I rented out a house for a year, and the year was almost up. I wasn't going to be extending the rental lease beyond 12 months, so it was time for me to start cleaning up, packing, and moving my stuff to the next place. The house that I had at the time was fairly small, but it was plenty of space for just me. I had just finished cleaning out and packing up the living room, other than the furniture, and I had moved on to do the same in the kitchen. There were quite a few cabinets.

There were so many cabinets that I didn't use a good number of them. I was looking through some of the ones that I didn't use just to make sure that they had nothing in them. As I opened one of the many empty cabinets, I saw something tucked away in the back corner. It looked like some type of shirt or possibly a rag. I grabbed it and I saw that it was not mine, but when I moved the cloth, a small white lever was revealed. It was so small and tucked away that I could barely see it. This cabinet in particular was in the corner by the sink and halfway blocked by the stove. I was curious, so I crawled inside the cabinet, which was pretty large.

Once I was fully inside, I saw that there was a small trap door on the side, leading into the wall. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. You had to be completely inside in order to see the details of it. I decided to open the door, which led to an extremely narrow hallway and into a crawl space. When I got further inside, I was horrified. I saw that there was food and several blankets as if somebody had been living inside.

The good news, at least to me, was that whoever was in there appeared to be gone. I tried to make sense of it and figure out how long whoever had been occupying that space had been there. And I wondered how I didn't even know about this space at all. Sure, I was in and out of the house often due to work and other things, but I didn't know someone could live there without me knowing about it.

I continued cleaning until it got pretty late, and the next day after work I continued. I was still kind of in shock from finding out about this secret room and decided to look at it once again. I opened the cabinet and went inside. I then pulled the lever to open it up just like I had the previous day. But this time, as I opened it, I saw movement. I saw a person for a split second. They then slammed the door back, shut on me. I immediately turned and ran all the way out of my house, got into my car, and called the police. I was so scared that I pulled out of the driveway and started driving. I told the police the whole situation and they came to my house a short time later

and found that whoever had been there was now gone again. I was disgusted knowing that some random person had access to my house for who knows how long. It felt like a vivid nightmare that I needed to wake up from. When I opened up my phone to call the police, the date was brightly displayed as June 23rd, 2016. That adrenaline-fueled moment is still so vivid in my mind that I've always been able to remember that date even seven years later. It stayed with me like a scar, a scar that I don't know if I'll ever heal from. Luckily for me, I moved out the following week. Honestly, I have no clue how long the person was living in

my secret room, but thankfully I never encountered a problem with whoever did live there. Thanks for listening to my true horror story, and remember to always lock your doors because you never know what people can do and what kind of spaces they'll find when they're in your house. In the early 2000s, during the golden age of social media, I was an avid user of Myspace. I enjoyed connecting with friends, meeting new people, sharing music, and customizing my profile with glittery HTML-coded backgrounds. And the most emo song lyrics scrawled all over the place, of course. Little did I know that my innocent online presence would lead to a chilling encounter. One day I received a friend request from a user with the cryptic username cutewithouttheee. Intrigued by the mysterious allure of the name, I accepted the request without giving

it much thought. What started as a seemingly harmless online friendship took a very dark turn. Kute's messages were peculiar, filled with cryptic poetry and enigmatic riddles. After being initially amused and enamored by the mystique, I soon became uneasy as the messages took a more personal and invasive turn. Kute seemed to know details about my life that I hadn't shared online, referencing my school, my friends, and even my daily routines. Alarmed and unsettled, I decided to confront Cute, demanding to know how they obtained

such intimate information. In response, Cute claimed to be a guardian spirit who was sent to watch over me. He said he was summoned to protect me from unseen dangers. Despite the bizarre explanation, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was being closely observed. As days turned into weeks, the messages grew increasingly sinister. Cute spoke of a deep connection between our souls, a bond that went beyond the digital realm. Gripped by fear, I initially confided in my dad. He urged me to report cute to the Myspace administrators, so I did, but he always reappeared with a new account, picking

up right where he left off. The situation escalated once stormy night when I received a message that sent shivers down my spine. Cute claimed to be right outside of my house. I knew that he was, as he accurately described, the flickering streetlight that had been casting eerie shadows on my bedroom wall for months. Panic set in as I peered outside into the darkness and saw nobody. Still terrified, I called the police, who were surprisingly able to trace the messages

to an IP address, but were unable to pinpoint the exact location. Fearing for my safety, I took a hiatus from Myspace. The messages ceased after that but my memory remains. Years later, long after Myspace faded into internet history, I stumbled upon an old news article. It detailed the arrest of a local individual involved in a string of cyber-stalking cases, including mine. Driven by an unhealthy obsession, the man in the article had targeted multiple individuals

all over social media igniting fear and paranoia in myself and many others. In looking this up and falling down the rabbit hole, I saw him unmasked for the first time. He was taken to court by a different victim, but I was listed as a victim of his as well in the case documents. Thanks everyone for listening and make sure you stick around after the music for your extended ad-free version of this week's episode with some bonus stories. If you'd like to get access, head over to patreon.com forward slash let's not meet podcast to sign up and support the show today. You'll get access instantly to hours and hours of bonus content and stories you won't hear anywhere else. This week you have heard Large Scary Man,

Alone in the Woods by The Silph Secret, Approached by Armed Creeper on rural track by Serious Cow 2026. I met a future murderer when I was a child by Mikey. Car accident turned creepy encounter by Pothos Babe. Man followed me home. Roommate came to the rescue with a knife by Nectarine313, very unsettling encounter with the stranger at my door by Vanilla Ave. My true house cleaning horror story by Great1198 and finally Cute Without the E by Buff Orpington. All of the stories you've heard this week were narrated and produced with the

permission of their respective authors. Let's not meet a true horror podcast is not associated with Reddit or any other message boards online. As always, if you have a story to share, send it to Let's Not Meet Stories at gmail.com. And finally, don't forget to check out the new episodes of my other podcasts like Odd Trails, My True Paranormal Podcast, and the old-time radio cast all at crypticcountypodcasts.com or wherever you get your podcasts. We'll see you next week. Stay safe. This happened in 2017. Changing light bulb should be simple. Whoa, whoa, whoa!

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