Walking at night can be dangerous.
It's a shame because there is something so calming about being alone with your thoughts in the dark.
There is something about the silence that is comforting.
So many Law & Order:SVU episodes begin with some foolish person roaming the dark streets of NYC.
So let's talk about what we see in the dark.
Redditor red-f1sh wanted everyone to share the darkest tales of their walks in the night, so they asked:
"People who take walks at night, what's the scariest thing you've seen?"
I feel like this is the time people have been most emboldened to just jump in front of me and scream.
It's odd.
A Trap?
"There was one night where a car stopped up the road, a girl got out, yelled for help, then got back in and they drove off. I have no idea of it was serious or not, considering she got right back in the car."
abetherigg
"Potential mugging trap. Have a car close, helpless little lady as bait and bam."
"A well meaning, upstanding member of society gets shoved in the car, robbed of everything and dumped in a completely different part of town with no means to call for help or police."
JustHell0
Take me home...
"I almost got kidnapped near a train station. Some dude drove up to me hella quick and insisted that I was some "missing Canadian child" and that he'd 'take me home.'"
"Coincidentally, a motorcycle cop happened to drive by, and immediately pulled over after I waved him down. He approached the guy in the car very aggressively and told him off."
"The cop didn't arrest the guy or anything (the guy apparently told the cop the same 'I thought he was a missing child' story) but he did walk me over to the train station and stayed with me until the train actually arrived."
Look Around
"One time I turned around to see what was behind me just out of intuition, and I saw someone step behind a tree rather quickly and try to hide from me. I stood there for a second to confirm this, then I speed-walked home. F**kin' creepy."
THCRANGER
"Even if the person had stepped out and followed OP home I would be getting less sinister vibes than I am from the image of them silently slipping back and resuming their watching. Gives me the shivers."
stolethemorning
On Camera
"I’m an overnight security guard. One night I was watching cameras and saw someone underneath a grass tarp where some landscaping was taking place on our property."
"I was guessing this person had probably tried to stash something before they went into detox which is next door to our property."
"I get over to the tarp and don’t see the guy anywhere. So I start walking over the tarp and lifting it to look for any stashed items."
"Well I ended up stepping on the poor homeless guy, scared the s**t out of me. He was cool though and we fist bumped and he went on his way."
Doch1112
The Neighborhood
"One time I was walking around my relatively safe neighborhood with two of my friends after midnight (we were probably 16 at the time). This loud red truck speeds by us, which is normal for the road we were on. Then a few minutes later the same red truck drives by the opposite way going much slower. Again just a couple of minutes later he drives by but this time stops a hundred or so feet away from us and just sits there."
"Realizing that this is not normal we booked it through the yard to the next street over. For the next 20 or so minutes we see this truck creeping up and down the neighborhood while we hid behind some bushes and when we finally thought he was gone, we booked it to my house. He turned the corner onto my road just as we were about to open my front door."
mattyb584
Lord, things really do go bump in the night.
The Van
"Walking home from a late night gym session at 24hr fitness. A white van past by me, slowing down. Slowly took a right turn in front of me. A couple minutes later I reach the turn and see the van stopped at the exit of a parking lot. It’s facing back my way. It’s like 4am and nothing else is going on and I’m creeped out."
"The van starts coasting forward slowly after I make the turn and I sprint across the street to a gas station and into this small dead end water/air pump station and press my body against an area of the wall that the van can’t quite see me. It literally pulls into the air/water station and stops. I hear the engine running right freaking next to me but they never get out of the van."
"I just stand there pressed against the wall until they pull out and drive around the gas station into the lot on the opposite side of the wall. I hear the van lingering for some time before it goes silent. Still I wait a while longer before I leave and run the rest of the way home."
clark_kent25
Strange
"I worked night shift for 7 years. One night a young, thin blonde woman was walking down the street at 2am with no pants or underwear on and a button up shirt open. I tried to ask if she needed help and she just stared forward, slowly walking staring forward. I called the police and they came and stood in front of her and she slowly walked into the cops hand and stopped."
"I didn't stay and went back to work. I still think an out her and what the f**k was going on. I tell myself it was sleep walking on Ambien or something. I'll never know. But she was very pretty, and seemed well groomed. Was very strange."
IndIka123
When on Acid
"Not me, but my friend was near downtown at 3a and was almost kidnapped. There’s a lot of young female kidnappings where we’re at and because he’s petite with long hair, he was mistaken as a female target. He managed to run away, but it was of course very traumatizing for him."
flotsamjr
With no car
"I worked night shift on Kadena AB on Okinawa, Japan. I started walking to work because I didn't have a car. I really enjoyed the walks. It was a good way to wind down after work as the nights were cool and quiet and I could listen to my music without worrying about anyone else around."
"One night while walking home I heard some rustling in the jungle of trees on the way home. Next thing I know all of the lights went black and all I heard/felt was a loud wooooosh coming right at my head. I screamed like a little girl, ran, and dropped my Ipod (it broke). Once I made it past the trees I realized it was one of the giant bats that lived on Okinawa. It scared the ever living s**t out of me."
akroses161
Slippers in the Grass
"Almost 100% sure I witnessed a kidnapping. I was going to get my mail late at night while living in an apartment complex and on the way back I noticed a woman in her pajamas surrounded by a few men right by a car. There was an argument and looked like they forced her in the car and drove off, I found her slipper nearby on the grass. I of course called the police and they came and I let them know what I saw but I never found out what actually happened."
kinetochore21
Run On
"Was up on a hill in the countryside at midnight when a man with a rifle came out of nowhere, ran right past me, and wasn’t seen again. I went home shortly after that."
WindingLostWay
That's it... I'm only going out in sunlight.
Do you have any creepy nocturnal stories? Let us know in the comments below.
@RepClayHiggins/X