7. The mystery of the burning matches.
My dad used to live in a house that had some weird things happen. Curtains moving, things not being where you left them, remotes ending up in places that were impossible to reach. But never anything violent or harmful. One week things started to feel different. The whole house started to feel uneasy which was a new feeling despite the weird activity. One day my stepmom and I were alone in the house and started to smell burning matches. Which is an incredibly distinct scent. We walk around trying to find where it was coming from and she eventually finds the source in the pantry. It was a pile of burnt matches about 10 inches wide and 3 high. We were alone in the house and were watching a movie together. No way it was either one of us and the kitchen was just off the back side of the living room so we would’ve heard if someone was there. Nothing nearly that profound happened again but you can bet that we were out of there when the lease was up a month later.
8. The eight-inch spider on the dining-room chair.
A few years ago, I was in the kitchen with my sister and my mom, and I saw this huge spider. This thing was at least 8 inches in diameter, just sitting on the back of one of the dining room chairs. I freaked the fuck out and pointed it out to my mom and my sister. Neither of them saw the spider. I turn back to the spider, and it’s right in front of me. “Can’t you see this??” I asked. As I’m looking at this spider, they both say there is no spider there and that my joke isn’t funny. That whole incident still bothers me.
9. The stranger behind the tinted glass.
When I was 16 I was home alone and suddenly felt the need to check the doors were locked, like urgently. I walked quickly to the front door and turned the lock just as a guy appeared on the other side and tried to open it. It didn’t open because I had locked it a millisecond earlier. I could see him because our door was partially tinted glass, I’m not sure if he saw me. He immediately turned around and walked away. WHO THE FUCK WAS HE?! He was early/mid twenties, really well dressed, black suit. He didn’t try to knock, he just tried to open the door. Never saw anyone like him again.
10. The dancing pants.
It’s crazy, but funny enough that people always think I’m making it up, despite being able to cross-reference with two other people with the same exact story.
When I was a kid, my brother and I used to visit our cousins three hours away. One time our parents went out and left my brother and I with my two cousins. The older cousin had something else to do and so the three of us (probably 10-13 yrs old) were on our own. For one reason or another we were in my aunt and uncle’s bedroom when I looked into the living room and, clear as day, saw a pair of my uncle’s disembodied dress slacks dancing away in the living room.
Obviously I freaked the fuck out and called my cousin and brother over and all three of us witnessed it. There’s no way it could have been a prank because the legs were moving and dancing and everything. There was too much dexterity for them to be controlled by a prankster.
To this day all three of us can collaborate this story. My cousin, who is now a missionary, even swears it happened. Despite the fact that it’s far outside the realm of her beliefs, when we talk about it, she just takes a breath and says “….yeah, I remember those dancing pants.”
