Let's Not Meet: A True Horror Podcast - 9x14: Unusual Victim - Let's Not Meet

Episode Date: November 7, 2022

Stories in this episode: - Scary Texas Chainsaw Massacre Guy, by Leah (0:49) - He Grabbed Her By The Face, Olivia (8:08) - Lock Your Doors, by Lindsay (14:35) - Unusual Victim, by Amy (22:22) - T...hat Old Guy, by Nikki (30:50) - Man with a Shotgun, by Minna (35:10) - I Watched Somebody Get Kidnapped, by Emu Llama (38:33) - My 20th Birthday, by Anon (44:46) Extended Patreon Content: - The Man in the Light Blue Shirt, by Bluemoon_pao - Night of my Broken Ear Drum, by Living in the Woods - Sketchy Seattle Landlord, by E 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 letsnotmeetstories@gmail.com.   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! Don't forget to check out this week's episode of my other podcast Odd Trails for your true paranormal fix as well as the first episode of my new podcast the Old Time Radiocast all at crypticcountypodcasts.com. Turn your food waste into dirt with the press of a button with Lomi. Use the code MEET to save $50 at lomi.com/meet Go to Stamps.com, click the microphone at the top of the page, and enter code MEET for a 4-week trial, plus free postage and a digital scale! Go to HelloFresh.com/lnm65 and use code lnm65 for 65% off plus free shipping! - Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/433173970399259/  - Twitter - https://twitter.com/letsnotmeetcast  - Website - https://letsnotmeetpodcast.com  - Patreon - https://patreon.com/letsnotmeetpodcast  - Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/letsnotmeetcast/  - Twitch - https://twitch.tv/crypticcounty  

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Starting point is 00:00:00 You're already there, hero. But if you want to take it to the next level, turn up Bull Loose in your backyard. Whoa! Bull Outdoor can help you design, build, then deliver the outdoor kitchen of your dreams. Think of all the fun you'll have. Grills, pizza ovens, sinks, ice chests, refrigerators, and more.
Starting point is 00:00:19 All designed to last a lifetime. Start customizing now at bullbibikew.. That's bullbbq.com and turn a bull loose in your backyard. This podcast contains adult language and content. If you have a story to share, send it to My name is Andrew Tate and this is season 9 episode 14 of Let's Not Meet a True Horror podcast. This story happened to me when I was 14. I'm 27 now. It's a weird story, not your typical creepy dude who wants you to check out his car or a stalker type situation. This was really bizarre and maybe a bit niche.
Starting point is 00:01:37 It terrified me though. I grew up in a small town in Nova Scotia, Canada. In the fall, there are a lot of pumpkin patches, corn mazes, hay rides, and other fall-themed activities to do. One of the more popular corn mazes in my community was a haunted corn maze. On the top of this maze aspect, it had things like an old school bus filled with mannequins and people in scary costumes that you had to walk through, in small barns with flickering lights and people dressed up like the curl from the ring. All in all, it was a pretty fun corn maze that gave most of my friends and I a legitimate
Starting point is 00:02:20 scare. When I was 14, I went with two of my best friends and one of their boyfriends. My mom dropped us off there and my friend's dad was going to pick us up later. We met with other friends there and stayed together as a big group in the corn maze. To set the scene, in front of the maze itself was a big open grassy area where people waited to get in or hung around afterwards waiting to get picked up. It was like an entrance slash exit with some portapoddies off to the side. In front of this big open grassy area there was a hill which had a few shops, they were
Starting point is 00:03:01 closed, there was also a parking lot. Aside from that, the area just had more farmland and woods around it, not a lot going on. It's rural Canada. After we finished the Corn Maze, one of my friends and I went to the port of Potty's and on our way back to our group, a man with a Texas Chainsaw Massacre-style mask wearing a plaid jacket saw us and started to chase us away from the Corn Maze area. For reference, I've been about 5'2 since I was 12 and probably 105 pounds soaking wet at the time.
Starting point is 00:03:38 My friend, who I was with, was even shorter, about 5'2. She was tiny under a hundred. There were other people dressed up like this guy in the corn maze, so we thought he must just be goofing around on his break. To our surprise, he kept chasing us up the hill towards the parking lot, instead of towards the maze itself. We ran further up the hill to get away from him. We were a bit out of breath, so we stopped and looked behind us to see if he was still chasing.
Starting point is 00:04:13 We ran over and into the parking lot by those shops that I had mentioned earlier. There were a few cars scattered around the parking lot, but it wasn't super full. We hid behind a car, and we saw him enter the parking lot area, seemingly looking for us. At this point, I think we were more scared than amused, because this was so weird. Why did this man chase us away from the maze? There's no one else here. We decided to get out from behind the car and run to the other side of the parking lot. We hoped he would just go down the hill and back to the maze. He didn't stop. He was still after us. We tried to distance ourselves from him by zigging
Starting point is 00:04:58 and zagging between the cars. Every time we looked back, he was still there right behind us. I was actually scared and wondering who this guy was and why he was chasing us for their away from the maze. We ran until the only direction we could go was back down the hill towards the maze. We were still a bit farther away from the maze because we were coming back down the hill from the opposite side of the parking lot. He was still chasing us down that hill, and we came across a brook that was about 2 meters wide, not super wide, but not like a tiny creek either. Remember that it's in October, in Nova Scotia, so it was not warm out. It was
Starting point is 00:05:43 nighttime, the last thing I wanted to do was get in this cold brook. My friend and I both stopped at the edge of the brook and looked back at the man. He was very close behind us. I remember thinking that we might be in real trouble because no one employed by the maze would go this far and chase a bunch of girls to a brook in the middle of the night. This seemed dangerous and wrong. I was frozen and terrified. Luckily my friend was not frozen with fear, and she grabbed my hand and said something like, come on, let's go. I could tell she was as scared as I was from her voice, but we did it, we ran into the
Starting point is 00:06:24 brook, which unfortunately came all the way up to our waste. We trudged through to the other side without looking back. We ran as fast as we could back to our friends, who were all laughing at us once we approached them. They also couldn't believe that this guy chased us up the hill and into a brook. They thought maybe he was just on a break having fun like we said. My friend and I, who had been chased, on the other hand, were truly terrified, soaked, and now freezing. We waited for about an hour or so until my friend's dad picked us up,
Starting point is 00:06:58 and we didn't see the man again. As I've gotten older, my friend and I reminisced about the situation a few times, and while at the time we were terrified, it didn't sink in until we were older about how insane the whole situation was. I also think about what easy it would be for creeps to dress up as people with scary masks and stand outside of those mazes, as they would probably blend in with those who worked there, or the employees that were on their breaks. Who was this guy? Was he even part of the group of people that were working the corn maze? What would have happened if we hadn't crossed that brook? Would he have caught us? I have no idea. I know most people are probably going to think that a grown man would have been able to catch
Starting point is 00:07:46 two 14 year old girls easily if he really wanted to hurt us, but I begged a differ. My friend and I were both strong athletes who ran long distance among other sports, so we were both in great shape, and dead hill training weekly. I doubt a grown man would be able to catch us, and it's even less likely that they would be able to keep up with us. In retrospect, I'm glad that my friend and I could run so quickly for long distances, and I'm definitely glad that we jumped into that brook. So, if you're going to a corn maze this year, be careful. And to the scary Texas chainsaw massacre guy, let's not meet again.
Starting point is 00:08:39 This happened 10 years ago, and the memory is still so vivid. For context, I am a female, I was with a date one January evening in downtown Chicago. The time came for me to head home, and he was going to give me a ride, but his car battery had died. In the days before Uber and Lyft, we relied on cabs passing by in the moment, hoping to get lucky. My date lived near a hotel, so we figured that it would be easiest to catch a cab from there.
Starting point is 00:09:11 We walked over to what we thought was the main entrance. There was a huge roundabout, and what looked like a front desk inside, but we realized we weren't at a side entrance, and there weren't any hotel workers or guests around. There was no one else but my date and me. Not too long after, a cab pulled up with three passengers two men and one woman. One man quickly got out and started pulling luggage out from the trunk. He had a nervous energy about him. He was moving very quickly and almost comically. Then he walked over to the passenger door and opened it for a young woman. When the door opened, I heard a man's voice from inside the taxi speaking loudly in an angry tone,
Starting point is 00:09:57 but we couldn't make out what he was saying. The woman got out of the taxi and didn't look alarmed at first. We didn't think too much of it. The man was just speaking loudly, angrily. We thought maybe he was just a little drunk. Then he got out of the taxi. As he did, the woman went to reach for her bag that was still in the cab, and this man immediately became upset.
Starting point is 00:10:22 He grabbed her by the face and slammed her against the cab yelling. Did I fucking tell you to touch that? Bitch, did I tell you to fucking touch that?" My eyes widened. My heart was racing. I think I even twitched in reaction. What were we witnessing? How was something like this happening in front of our eyes?
Starting point is 00:10:44 The first man with the luggage didn't even react. He reached around them, grabbed the bag, then packed himself up like a pack mule, and headed towards the hotel doors with all the luggage. I looked at my date, and his eyes were wide. The disbelief of what we had just witnessed turned us into ice sculptures filled with fear, guilt, and sadness. I squeezed his hand tight. We were frozen in the cold air suspended in time by the ice-inness of this man's intimidation. I couldn't even speak if I wanted to, as this man continued to hold this woman by her face against the taxi. My mind was suspended in this moment of limba what should we do? Should we do anything? Can we do anything? It just felt so wrong to stand there and watch, but we were completely alone.
Starting point is 00:11:39 No one else was around, and the side entrance area of the hotel was completely empty. One else was around, and the side entrance area of the hotel was completely empty. This poor excuse of a man was obviously very comfortable with violence, so it felt like anything we could do or say wouldn't really matter. He shoved her away from the taxi almost causing her to fall to the ground. He yelled at her to get into the fucking hotel while slamming the door of the cab. He didn't care that there were people there witnessing this, and that was the sad part. He knew he could get away with it. They walked by us, and I have heard in my eyes too scared to look at his face and too
Starting point is 00:12:19 ashamed to look at hers. My date ushered me into the cab quickly as we watched the trio walk into the hotel. The cab ride home was a long and silent ride. The cab driver commented on the scene and mentioned how appalled he was by what he had just seen. But all of us did nothing about it. I prayed that the woman would be safe, I wished it ended the universe. I hope she's safe out there somewhere. To that peace of shit man, I hope no one ever meets you again. You're already there, hero. But if you want to take it to the next level, turn a bull loose in your backyard.
Starting point is 00:13:19 Bull Outdoor can help you design, build, then deliver the outdoor kitchen of your dreams. Think of all the fun you'll have. This story took place when the pandemic was only just getting started. I had bought my first house. I'm in my 30s, I'm a mom, and I've been single for a couple of years. I was using various popular dating apps to meet people at the time. I met Vincent in an online dating app in May of 2020 and in person in July of 2020. The reason for the delay in meeting him was the pandemic. We chatted pretty regularly on the phone and built a pretty good report. We decided for our first meeting to have a quick coffee date during my lunch hour at a
Starting point is 00:14:19 local park. The park was actually pretty busy that day, even though it was sweltering hot. It was during the summer in Minnesota. When I arrived, I noticed that he was already there waiting for me, so I walked up to him, and we went along on our date. As the date progressed, I realized that I needed to get back to work. We were walking back to my car, and I realized that Vincent did not arrive in his own vehicle. I asked him where his car was, and he said that he walked there. For him, this would have been about a five and a half mile walk give or take from where he lived in the city. He walked in 100 degree heat, wearing jeans, a long sleeve shirt, and a jean jacket.
Starting point is 00:15:06 It just seemed odd to me, but like most of these stories, I ignored it. I offered to drive him back close to his apartment without knowing the exact neighborhood that he lived in. He asked if I could drive him to Walmart instead. I obliged, and when we got there, I needed to use the restroom. I decided to walk into the store with him and said, hey, it was really nice to meet you. I have to use the restroom, then I've got to get back to work,
Starting point is 00:15:34 but I will definitely call you later, and we can set up another date. I went to give him a hug, goodbye. I had no intention of going out with him again, but I was going to call him and let him know. I wasn't going to just ghost him. I came out of the restroom, and he was still standing there waiting for me. This made me very uneasy, so I asked him if he was okay, and he said that he was fine. Now I was kind of annoyed at this point and said, all right, well I really do need to get home and go back to work, so I'll call you later. I started to leave.
Starting point is 00:16:11 I went back home and I got back to work. When I finished my work, I looked at my phone and saw that Vincent had texted me multiple times. I was becoming increasingly annoyed by him. I went down to my garage to have a smoke and I opened my car door to get my cigarettes. I noticed an extremely strong weed smell. Now, I realized that he left his jean jacket in the back seat of my car. I was mad.
Starting point is 00:16:39 He did this on purpose. I just knew that he did. I felt it in my gut. I texted him about his jacket. I didn't appreciate the message that he sent me while I was working and I didn't appreciate him leaving his jacket with weed to stink up my car. He told me that he was sorry and that I could just throw it out since he didn't mean to upset me.
Starting point is 00:17:00 I said, okay, well that's fine, it's in the trash. Have a good life and good luck with your dating endeavors. And then I blocked him. Fast forward to December 2020. I was about a month into dating somebody else. I was at my desk working when my doorbell rang during my work day. I wasn't expecting any visitors or packages so I ignored the doorbell. It rang again and again, but I ignored it. I was getting irritated because obviously I'm not answering. I parked
Starting point is 00:17:34 my car in a garage plus with the layout of my house. I'm not visible inside from the outside. So how does this person even know that I'm home? I came down from my loft to the second floor, opened my balcony door, and stepped outside since I can see my front door from there. I leaned over the ledge and who stepped out from under the balcony? Then sent. How the fuck did he find out where I lived? I never told him in all of our conversations, and I haven't spoken to him in months. I started panicking on the inside, but I kept my cool on the outside. He asked me to come downstairs because he said he had something for me, but I felt unsafe. I told him that I was recently exposed to COVID, and I didn't think it
Starting point is 00:18:24 was a good idea. I told him that he could just leave to COVID, and I didn't think it was a good idea. I told him that he could just leave whatever he had for me on top of my air conditioner unit outside. He argued with me for a little bit, but I eventually convinced him to leave whatever he had for me on top of the AC unit. He walked away from my door and down the street a little bit then sat on a bench in my neighborhood. I bolted down my other flight of stairs when I realized my front door was unlocked.
Starting point is 00:18:52 I forgot to lock my door after I walked my dog that morning. I've never been so scared like that in my entire life. I quickly locked my front door and went back upstairs. I looked out from the balcony window to see that he was still sitting on that bench. He sat there for quite a while. I called my best friend and caught her up on the whole thing. She told me to keep watching him, and if he comes back to my door to call the police. He ended up coming back to the door, and he kept knocking and knocking and ringing the
Starting point is 00:19:25 doorbell incessently. I called 911 and finally got through to somebody at Dispatch who said that they were sending an officer to my house. It took an officer 25 minutes to arrive despite me telling the Dispatcher that I knew Vincent carried a firearm, and I told the story this far. I invited the officer into my house and caught him up on the entire thing. He sent his partner to try and find Vincent. The officer told me that on the AC unit outside were some toys from my son and a ring.
Starting point is 00:19:58 The officer's partner caught up to Vincent a couple of blocks away at a gas station near my house. So the officer left my house to go and talk with his partner and Vincent. The officer came back a while later and told me that Vincent said we had slept together, and dated, and all of these other untrue statements. The officer asked me if I was telling the truth and I lost my absolute shit on this cop. I said, I'm sorry, are you standing in my house and accusing me of lying and shaming me? telling the truth and I lost my absolute shit on this cop. I said, I'm sorry, are you standing in my house and accusing me of lying and shaming me?
Starting point is 00:20:31 You all take your sweet ass time to get here when this guy is clearly stalking me. He left these trinkets on my AC and now I feel unsafe in my home. I have no reason to lie to you. And if you tell me to calm down, we're going to have a serious problem. This is why women get murdered by their partners because cops don't protect the people they're supposed to. The officer actually tensed up and apologized. He said, ma'am, I'm sorry for the way that I spoke to you. Here's what I can do. He then proceeded to tell me what my options were. While I haven't heard from Vincent since, and I still live in that same house,
Starting point is 00:21:10 I lock my door religiously now. So Vincent, let's never meet again. Usually, I wouldn't write in, but I listen to your podcasts a lot at work. This is a cautionary tale to remind people that you can never be too sure that you are safe. I've been traveling alone since I was young. Airports have always been an exciting place to people watch. As I've gotten older, I've realized that the world can be a dangerous place. This is my story. I needed some time away from my life.
Starting point is 00:21:59 It had gotten complicated for tons of reasons, not important to the story. When a friend, knowing my struggles, offered me a mini-vacation, I jumped at the chance. I was excited at the thought of running away all by myself just for a bit. My friend paid for the flight and got me a room. No strings, just kindness. I was very grateful. I could even visit my family in the area that I was traveling to if I felt up to it. I really wanted some space for myself to think.
Starting point is 00:22:32 And I told my job and family what they needed to know about the trip, safety first. The nearest airport to me is out of my town, so my girlfriend drove me there straight from work. We encountered a storm while on the road. When we got to the airport, she told me that she would call me when she got back home due to the storm. Flight delays because of the storm had my departure and arrival times all jacked up. I took a deep breath and had a beer to calm my nerves. When all was said and done, I landed at my destination.
Starting point is 00:23:06 I had almost shaken off my edge. Almost. I didn't want to bother my generous friend further, especially since my arrival was hours later than I had planned because of the flight delay. I told my friend that I was fine and had called the hotel for the courtesy shuttle. I knew where I was and gave my location to the hotel staff, letting them know that I would be waiting in the pickup lane. I knew the hotel would have a shuttle come to get me soon. I desperately wanted some peace as it was coming close to 11 at night. I was calling my friend when a van pulled up
Starting point is 00:23:45 with no discerning marks. An unknown man asked me what I was waiting for. I politely told my friend to hold on and replied to the man saying that I was waiting for the shuttle to my hotel. He said, that's me. I told my friend to stay on the line. I asked what hotel he worked for, but he responded, I worked for all of them.
Starting point is 00:24:11 Then asked me where I was staying. No, I don't think so. Leave, I replied. He opened the sliding automatic door immediately. I stepped back further from the van. I'm not that naive. This van had hot pink fuzzy pillows on one of the backseat chairs, and it was looking like a mess as if a family had just taken a trip. This is not a company vehicle.
Starting point is 00:24:41 The final straw was when I saw how dark the back of the van was. There could have easily been someone else hiding back there. So I told him to leave again. He told me, it's all right, just get in. He was speaking very hurriedly. Everything was happening so fast. My friend on the phone heard what was happening and said, send me his license plate now. I backed up to take a picture and started looking at the other shuttles, hoping to catch someone's eye.
Starting point is 00:25:12 I was also looking for security. No one was paying attention to what was happening because a card of luggage had run into a car that was way down the line. Witnesses started congregating together, driving attention away from my situation even more. I looked to the van over, making note of anything else suspicious, no lift, decal, no uber decal, no taxi sign. It appeared he had no business at all picking me up. I told him again to leave or prepare for a fight. If I was getting into that damn van, I was going to be kicking, punching, and hitting him. Now, I'm African American 43 years old and 240 pounds.
Starting point is 00:25:55 I'll be honest. I'm aging well, and I don't look as old or as heavy as I am. This man probably thought that I was a curvy single female and none the wiser. Little did he know, I'm not normal prey. He smiled. He fucking smiled like he wanted a challenge. He was getting out of the van. I put my weekend bag behind me, never taking my eyes off of him. And I got into a defensive stance. He was standing at the middle of his back bumper of his van when both my friend and the courtesy shuttle from the hotel pulled up simultaneously.
Starting point is 00:26:36 Still, in my defensive pose, I asked him, do you want to explain what's going on to them? He went back around to the driver's side door, got into his van and sped off. I went to the actual courtesy shuttle and I told them that I would tip them back at the hotel and got in with my friend. When we got to the hotel, I was shaking when I told the front desk what happened. I called the airport police the very next day to report the time and location so that they could review the security footage. He said it was probably someone trying to steal the ride. I countered. He claimed he was hotel shuttle, which means he wouldn't even be getting paid, except for a tip. Moreover, he had not said which hotel had sent him. The officer insisted that it was a private taxi.
Starting point is 00:27:28 I shouted, really, without any indication of being a business vehicle and the messiness of this family van, it was a private taxi. My frustration of not being taken seriously and almost being a victim has made me share this story several times, I was not in the wrong place at the wrong time doing the wrong thing, I assure you. To the man who thought that I was easy pickings, let's not meet again, or else you'll see how serious I am. Amplify your career through training and development solutions specifically designed for federal government professionals, from courses to help you attain or retain certification to to individualize coaching services, to programs at home, your leadership skills, and business acumen. Management concepts optimizes your professional development, online, in-person,
Starting point is 00:28:35 individually, or groups. It's training that's measurably better. Learn more at managementconcepts.com. That's managementconcepts.com. at managementconcepts.com. That's managementconcepts.com. This story happened when I was around five or six, so part in the gaps in my information. My mom sent me to day camp, and we were on a filled trip. It was one of the most exciting ones of my life at this point because we were going to a skating rink
Starting point is 00:29:03 that also had a laser tag. There was also this little arcade near the laser tag arena. Now this is going to be important for later. My day camp friends and I got a bunch of tokens from our counselors and we went on our way. We spent about two hours playing in the arcade, skating, and doing all of the things that young kids do at a place like that. My group of friends and I had enough ADHD amongst us to not allow us as a group to do the same activity
Starting point is 00:29:36 for any longer than 10 minutes. We were a bit all over the place. After bursts of skating, running around the arcade, and being the chaotic little After bursts of skating, running around the arcade, and being the chaotic little kids that we were, we were finally ready for some laser tag. Our whole day camp gears up and goes to the laser tag arena. About 15 minutes in, we were having the time of our lives shooting each other, but there was this other camp with their counselors also playing along with us. My friend and I who had teamed up started feeling eyes on us so we stayed very close together.
Starting point is 00:30:14 We didn't think anything of it because we thought it was just probably some other kids. All of a sudden this old man approaches us. He says, Your dad sent me. Now even though I was only 5 or 6, I was the mom friend, so I immediately said, No, get away from us. And I proceeded to run off with my friend. We eventually left the laser tag arena, and our team won, which was always a good score.
Starting point is 00:30:48 I wish that was the last I had ever seen of that old man. But we had about another hour and a half left over after the game before we had to return back to our respective day camp. The kids and the counselors dispersed and began to run around again. When I say that the counselors were running around, it's not that they weren't keeping an eye on us. It's just that this was back in the 90s. It was 30 kids in one shaperone. I remember going with that same friend that I had stuck with during Laser Tag to play Arahaki, but eventually we ended up splitting ways.
Starting point is 00:31:27 After that I remember making my way to one of the pinball machines in the back of the arcade. I was on my last quarter, and a hand came from behind me and placed a roll of quarters down. I remember looking up and feeling my heart dropping into my stomach. It was the old guy from the laser tag game. I remember him saying in a whisper, here's a roll of quarters. This is something your dad gave me. Not thinking too much about it, I took the quarters. thinking too much about it, I took the quarters. Again, I was five or six, not really one to think too hard on these things, and he was an adult. Throughout the rest of the conversation, he ended up putting my hands in his pocket. There were bullets, at least what I felt were bullets in his pocket.
Starting point is 00:32:26 At least, what I felt were bullets in his pocket. I remember him saying, if you tell anyone about this, I'll kill your whole family. And if you say something now, I'll kill you and everyone here. I didn't speak to my mom for two years after that field trip. In fact, I was basically mute after that. And so, to that fucked up old guy who prayed on little girls in the laser tag arena, I hope we never meet again. I've listened to this podcast for quite a while now, and I've been trying to figure out if I had a story of my own to share. The sensitive came to mind, so here it goes.
Starting point is 00:33:15 We're a little background. I've lived my whole life in Finland, where the law about firearms has always been pretty strict. In fact, I've never really seen a hunting rifle up close. I was a child at the time, maybe around five years old. My parents, uncle, eight-year-old sister and I had all been visiting our grandparents during Father's Day, which happens in November and Finland. We were dropping my uncle off at his place.
Starting point is 00:33:47 He needed to buy something from a nearby kiosk, so we parked in the tiny mall parking lot and stayed in the car while he went inside. It was just me, my sister, and our mom in the car at this point. It was also pitch dark outside, as it was late in the evening in November. My uncle took his sweet time in the kiosk, and at some point my mom asked my sister to go fetch him so that we could get going. She went inside, and now it was just me and my mom in the car. A couple more minutes passed, and we didn't see my uncle or sister anywhere.
Starting point is 00:34:32 Then, as if out of nowhere, a man was standing right in front of our car. I remember he looked rough and had this wild look in his eyes. But what truly terrified me was that he was carrying this huge shotgun in his hands. He was staring us down. I remember my mom quietly saying, don't look that man in the eyes. I could sense that we were in danger, but just couldn't take my eyes off of him. The moment couldn't have lasted very long, but it felt like a lifetime, and then just as suddenly as he had appeared, he left and walked off into the darkness. I was shaken by that incident, but I can't even begin to imagine the horror that my mom must have gone through. She, of course, realized that my sister and uncle could have come out of that kiosk at any
Starting point is 00:35:23 moment, not aware that there was a man with a gun outside. My mom later told me that she had been ready to leap out of that car and punch the living daylights out of that man. Luckily, someone outside had noticed the gun. They ran inside the kiosk and informed the people there about the situation and they called the police. Naturally, my uncle and sister didn't leave the kiosk until it was safe again.
Starting point is 00:35:52 Nobody was heard in this situation, but it could have ended much worse. Who was that man with the gun looking for on that dark November night? Whoever it was, I certainly hope they're safe and far away from that guy. So to the man with a shotgun and those wild eyes, let's not meet again. I was somewhere between the ages of 6 and 12. I know that's a huge age gap, but this took place about 25 to 30 years ago. There's been a lot of other trauma since then, so forgive me for not being exact. My mom and I were visiting my maternal grandpa. He lived on a dead-end road. There was a ledge nearby, and down that ledge,
Starting point is 00:36:52 there was a factory that my brothers and I often threw rocks at. This factory was maybe the length of a football field away from where we were throwing the rocks from, and we were trying to make them land on the roof. Now my grandpa's house has been torn down for 20 years by now, but I remember the side of his house with the fence. It had some kind of flowering bush. I want to say that it was roses, but I don't really remember. There were some neighborhood kids that would play with us, but there were some others that I would stay away from because they were downright mean. Andy, for instance, was mean as hell. I think he was in his teens at this time.
Starting point is 00:37:38 He was wheelchair bound because when he was five, his dad shot his his mom and then him in the back. So I suppose Andy had every right to be mean. One of my brothers was about the same age as Andy. My brother was also mean as hell, same with my cousins. My brother and one of my cousins once teamed up and gave me second degree burns on my stomach, so you can imagine at my age at that time I didn't really think teenagers could ever be nice. Imagine my surprise when I met this beautiful young woman somewhere between the ages of 16 and 20 in my grandpa's neighborhood.
Starting point is 00:38:21 She wasn't just talking to me like a human being. She was also being very nice. I loved her immediately. She and I started walking with a group of other people. I looked over at her and she was smiling. I remember thinking, that's good, she's happy. For the first time in my life, I thought worthy of being someone's friend. I know that sounds weird, because I had only met her
Starting point is 00:38:45 maybe 20 minutes earlier, but she radiated joy and love and acceptance. About 20 minutes into our walk, still on the street where my grandpa lived, this black car pulled up. Two or three men jumped out and they grabbed her. She hit her head on the door as they hastily pushed her inside the car, and just like that she was gone. I ran to tell my mom what happened.
Starting point is 00:39:12 She told me, we don't want to get involved. She wouldn't even call the police. Now this happened 25 to 30 years ago, but I still wish I would have done something differently. I forgot about this for a long time, but the memory recently surfaced, and it's been on my mind a lot lately. A friend recently posted a memorial to a high school friend who was murdered in 1999. The picture looked a lot like it may have been a younger version of the girl that I remembered, but I'm not certain that that timeline lines up. But it looked exactly like her.
Starting point is 00:39:52 The personality of the girl who was murdered in 1999 described in newspapers was the same as the girl that I met long ago. My vague memory of the guys that shoved her in the car was eerily close to what the two men convicted of this 1999 murder looked like. I don't actually know who the girl was. I don't know her name now, and I'm not sure I ever learned her name then. I'm not sure if the girl that I met is the girl who was murdered, but I saw someone get kidnapped. So, to the men who forced this beautiful young woman into their car and drove away, I hope
Starting point is 00:40:31 we never meet again. Fresh produce is the best produce. That's why at Crogr, we invest in local farmers to bring you the freshest seasonal picks. So no matter how you shop, your local produce always tastes 100% fresh, or you get a 100% refund. Guaranteed. Croger. Fresh. For everyone.
Starting point is 00:41:08 Save big on your favorites with the Buy, Fiver More, Save a Dollar each sale. Simply buy five or more participating items and save a dollar each with your card. Croger. Fresh. For everyone. I've been listening to this podcast for a while now. You know, you never think that anything like these stories will ever happen to you until they do. This happened back in April.
Starting point is 00:41:30 I was 19, going to be turning 20 early that month, and my friend had been trying her hardest to convince me to go to the club with her and a few of her friends to celebrate. She was going to bring the guy that she had been seeing and our other two friends who were a couple. That meant that I was going to be the only one without a partner and seeing as I had just gotten out of a relationship a month prior, I really didn't want to go. I ended up downloading a dating app and my bio stated that I wasn't looking for a relationship or a hookup, I simply wanted someone who could go out and dance with me. I ended up getting in touch with a guy named Tommy. Tommy was really tall and skinny and he seemed alright so we made plans for him to join me and my friends at the club that weekend. He lived in Dallas,
Starting point is 00:42:27 which was about two hours away from where I lived at the time. I didn't think having a complete stranger drive two hours to come and see me was anything out of the ordinary. Stupid, I know. Before he even left Dallas, I reminded Tommy that I was not interested in a hook-up or anything like that. He seemed alright with it. We came to an agreement that he would stay at a hotel. It took a while to convince him, though, as he was trying to convince me that he should stay at my place.
Starting point is 00:43:00 I sent him a link to a hotel where he could book a room and he immediately became a bit standoffish. He asked why he had to input his credit card information if he was just going to pay with cash. Okay, maybe this isn't such a big deal in retrospect, but to me, this was a red flag. Fast forward to that weekend, he still kept trying to come to my house. Obviously, I still said no and told him that he could meet me in public in a parking lot in town and from there he could follow me to the hotel. At this point I was realizing how stupid I am, and I'm even trying to lose him while I'm driving. We drove 30 minutes to the hotel and checked in. At check-in, he was being very hesitant about
Starting point is 00:43:55 giving the front desk employee his information. Does the card I have need to have the same name I used to reserve the room online. He asked the employee. He was also hesitant to give her his ID. We go up to the room and get settled in. Not even 20 minutes into being there, and he was shape hole in your life and it's time to put things right. Thankfully bull outdoor products are ready with everything you need to create a world class outdoor cooking space. Bull outdoor kitchens and accessories add value to your property and extra fun to your world. If you're gonna do it, do it right. Turn a bull loose in your backyard. Bull BBQ dot com. Out later. We were getting ready to go eat. Before we even walked out the door, He asks me to sit with him. So, what do you want to do with me?" he asked.
Starting point is 00:45:09 I'm confused as to what he meant since the whole time I made it perfectly clear I was not looking for anything more than just a date to dance with me for the night. He then tells me that I'm beautiful and that he would love if we could continue seeing each other if the night went well. I was beginning to get worried about my safety, but I smiled at him and I said, we'll see, but for now let's just go get something to eat before it gets too light. Dinner was awkward to say the least as he continued to ask me if I was seeing anyone or talking to other people. After I tried to change the subject, I realized we had nothing to talk about.
Starting point is 00:45:55 All throughout the meal, he was acting peculiar, like he had never been out in public before. We got back to the room and I started to get ready to go out while he was watching something on TV. He kept coming into the bathroom periodically while I was trying to do my hair and makeup. He kept hugging me from behind and kissing my neck for reference on 5 to 140 pounds. This man is probably a whole foot taller than me, and while he was skinny, I could tell that he would be stronger than me. By this point, I'm pretty nervous. I knew that if he really wanted to do something, he would be able to do what he wanted to do.
Starting point is 00:46:37 I started frantically texting my friend, asking her if she could come over since we planned to pre-game at the hotel. I realized that I hadn't brought that up with Tommy, so I asked, hey would it be cool if a couple of my friends came to pre-game before we left? They bought two bottles for tonight and a couple of shooters. It gave me this look. Then smiled uncomfortably. That's fine, but are we going to be alone later tonight?" he asked. I told you that we would be spending the night with my friends. I never told you that we would be here alone tonight, I replied.
Starting point is 00:47:17 They can't come into our room then. I don't want to pay for any damages to the room. He said this as he turned away from me. We finished up getting ready and alarm bells are now going off in my head. I'm still texting my friend and she said that she would call me and pretend that there was an emergency so I could get the fuck out of there. I finished getting ready and as I came out of the bathroom, I saw him looking at my driver's license and going through my wallet. I smiled at him as I slowly started to pack my things up
Starting point is 00:47:53 in my bag. Your first name is really pretty, by the way. I didn't know that you lived in such a place. Fuck. I've got to get out of here before this man does something to me. Thanks, I said. That's a really old address though, I just haven't updated it. I was lying through my teeth, I wanted to hide any bit of truth from him. I was sitting on the side of my bed with a bag packed, ready to go out with my friends when they called me.
Starting point is 00:48:28 It felt like an eternity waiting for her to call. Even though in reality it was probably just five minutes before my phone started to ring. I put on my best performance and sputtered out that something had happened to my mom and I needed to leave right away while pretending to cry. He didn't buy it. In fact, he didn't even seem sympathetic in the slightest. He coldly asked if he could come with me, and if we would be seeing each other later that night. Then he kissed me goodbye as if we were something way more than just strangers who had met hours prior.
Starting point is 00:49:09 I rushed down to the parking lot, started my car, and got the fuck out of there. Me and my friends ended up going to the club, and I started to get phone call after phone call from him. My phone was flooded with messages from him. I just ignored them and continued to have a good time. I even ended up forgetting about him. That is, until he called me the next day. I didn't answer. I didn't care to answer. I don't know why he was so persistent about coming to my house, or even having me spend the night in the hotel room with him. Whatever he was planning, couldn't have been good.
Starting point is 00:49:50 Looking back, if I would have spent more time in that hotel room with Tommy, I probably wouldn't have lived to see my 20th birthday. So to Tommy, I don't know who you really are or what you were planning. But let's never meet again. If you're a patron, don't forget to stick around after the music for your extended ad-free version of this week's episode, and if you'd like to get access to all of that bonus content in hours more, head over to patreon.com forward slash let's not meet podcast to sign up and support the show today.
Starting point is 00:50:40 This week you have heard, Texas Chainsaw Massacre Guy by Leia. Be Grabbed Her by the face by Olivia. Block your doors by Lindsay. Unusual Victim by Amy. That old guy by Nikki. Man with a shotgun by Amina. I watched somebody get kidnapped by Imu Lama. And finally, my 20th birthday by a listener that asked to remain anonymous.
Starting point is 00:51:07 All of the stories you've heard this week were narrated and produced with the permission of the 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 we'll take a look at it. And don't forget to check out all of the new episodes of my other podcasts, Odd Trails, the True Paranormal Podcast,
Starting point is 00:51:28 as well as the old-time radio cast at crypticcountypodcasts.com, or wherever you get your podcasts. We'll see y'all next week. Stay safe. I'm a female 5 foot 5 104 pounds. I used to work at a lifestyle store that features different departments like bedding, tabletop, wear, furniture, apothecary, etc. Amplify your career through training and development solutions specifically designed for federal government professionals, from courses to help you attain or retain certification to
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