Hide and seek. It's a classic pastime—only, it's not always fun and games. Hide and seek means lots of kids have to go off on their own, and sometimes, they end up in places where they definitely should not be. From terrifying close calls to shocking discoveries, it's safe to say that these games of hide and seek went terribly wrong.
1. Into The Woods
When I was an eight-year-old kid, my younger siblings, who were six and three at the time, decided it would be fun to play a simple game of hide and seek in our grandparents' backyard. Just beyond the yard was a stretch of woods.
Our little sister, a feisty toddler as she was, dashed into the woods, and our brother, seeing her disappear into the trees, followed her. That's when things took a scary turn. They wound up being lost in the woods for hours because our sister had run so far in, they got completely disoriented.
Thankfully, our brother stumbled upon a hunting post, climbed it, and spotted a way out from up there. All covered in dirt and scratches, they then started knocking on doors until a kind-hearted woman answered. Recognizing some landmarks, our brother was able to guide her to give them a lift back to our grandmother's.
By the time they returned, our mum was on the phone with an officer discussing the possibility of deploying a helicopter to locate them. We were about to launch a full search party. In total, they'd wandered around two to three miles.
Who knows how much farther into rural woods they could have wandered if they hadn't stumbled upon the post. So, yeah, always keep a close eye on your kids. Simply warning them "Don't go into the woods" isn't a foolproof method. We even had the local authorities visit to give the kids a stern lecture.
2. Toby's Gone Missing
When I was eight years old, I went to a party for the birthday of the girl who lived next door. A lot of our friends were there, including this one boy, we'll call him Toby. Toby wasn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed—we all did foolish things, but Toby was in a class of his own.
He once ate a wasp and couldn't figure out why his mouth swelled up. During the party, the birthday girl challenged us all to a game of hide and seek. Their house was on a large farm, so there were numerous hiding spots. To ensure we didn't stay hidden forever, we agreed to limit our hiding places to the barn and its surrounding area.
Fifteen minutes later, everyone had been found, everyone that is, except Toby which started to freak us out a bit. By then, it was around 5:30 PM. We were due to go home, but Toby was still missing. The adults let us stay till 7 PM in hopes that Toby would turn up. But when he didn't, his parents called 9-1-1, and a search team was deployed.
When even they couldn't find him, they called off the search. The following morning, my parents woke me up with the good news that Toby had been found. His adventure left me in disbelief. Somehow, Toby had ended up in the restricted meadow and was later found—eight hours later, four miles away, on the side of a road with his clothes ripped and torn.
He was only discovered after a relative driving by noticed him under his car's headlights. And remember, Toby was new to the locale, not having a clue about where anything was!
Toby and I are still buddies 18 years on and this story comes up whenever we need a hearty laugh. And for the boy who was a bit dim, he's now a proud holder of a master's degree in mechanical engineering. I'm really grateful things turned out like they did because if they hadn't, my life would've taken a different turn.
3. The Greatest Hider Of All Time
Sure, let's set the scene. Hide and seek is no game for me—it's something I take uber seriously. You could call me an expert. During my high school years, I would pack my bags every holiday (that's four times annually by the way) for camp. One of our prime activities there? A nocturnal version of hide and seek known as "spotlight".
Picture an open field, bathed in the eeriness of the night, and lots of thin flashlights bouncing off surfaces. If you were caught, your flashlight was confiscated and you joined the seekers, hunting down the remaining hiders. Believe me, it was a massive point of pride to be the last one discovered.
On my first camping trip, I pulled out all the stops—I mean, decked out in all black attire, beanie included. My chosen hiding spot? A patch of long, damp grass at the sides of a field. Strange coincidence, three other boys took the same spot just before time's up. Only, they nestled nearer to the tips of the grass where it was dry.
They were oblivious to my presence. As fate would have it, these amateurs got caught. The seeker, shining his light into the grass, was in hot pursuit of me. Then, things took an unexpected turn. The seeker ventured further and unintentionally steps on me. In the dim light, my all-black attire morphed into what looked like a garbage bag.
Regardless, I hunkered down in that moisture-laden ditch for a solid two hours. But, when I finally trudged back victoriously to the dorm, it was not a hero's welcome that awaited me. Turns out, in the course of the game, everyone had side-lined my existence. That stung.
4. Taking The "Care" Out Of Daycare
During an unfortunate summer, my twin little brothers and I were stuck in a terrible daycare center. Often, we had to spend time outdoors with some quick-tempered older kids, about 14-15 years old, who were frankly quite full of themselves. I wasn't a fan.
We were often granted the chance to leave the daycare compound and explore the wooded hill that neighbored the facility. One particular day, these troublesome older kids decided it would be fun to play hide and seek in the aforementioned woods—their smart idea to avoid getting disciplined by Susan, the daycare owner.
If we didn't oblige, they'd cook up a story to land us in trouble. For some bizarre reason, Susan just couldn't stand us and always showed preference to the older kids over me and my brothers. A mere five minutes into the game in the woods, things went south fast.
Both my brothers suffer from severe bee allergies—a fact we discovered the hard way when we realized that the woods were riddled with bees. One of my brothers got stung in the foot when he momentarily took off his shoe. He was in so much pain he couldn't walk, so we carried him through the woods and down the hill; his screams of agony still echo in my ears.
On getting back to the center, Susan attempted to deal with the sting by herself to escape backlash for her negligence—a kid with known allergies prancing around in a bee-infested forest. Predictably, she failed miserably. My brother had to be rushed to the hospital later that day, where he thankfully made a full recovery.
We never set foot in that daycare again for the remainder of the summer. Not surprisingly, the center was shut down within a year.
5. A Little Too Good At The Game
Just after we'd moved into our new neighborhood, my five-year-old sister was engaged in a game of hide and seek with a kid from next door. Long story short, the kid couldn't find her and as dusk approached, all the grown ups started to panic, scouring the neighborhood, hollering her name.
Eventually, my folks decided to call 9-1-1, but luckily, she was found before things escalated. Everyone was curious about why she didn't respond to their calls—and her answer was hilarious. Turns out, she'd heard everyone calling out for her, but she was engrossed in her hide and seek game, so obviously, she stayed hidden until someone found her!
Once the drama was over, my parents rang the authorities back and told them to stand down. That's actually how we got acquainted with most of our neighbors.
6. Well...This Isn't Good
Long before I was born, my siblings often played games at our aunt's home, located right by the river.
One fateful day, my oldest brother chose to dangle by his fingertips inside the water well. At the same time, and completely unaware, my other brother was considering hunching inside the well's tiny steeple cover. But to reach his hideaway, he had to forcefully shut the well cover. As you can imagine, this was a recipe for disaster.
SMASH...Ear-piercing shrieks...Splash...Calls for assistance...Caught up in raw anger, disbelief, and concern, my aunt, grandma, and mother managed to haul him up. It was no easy task; his fingers were crushed so severely that he couldn't even grip a rope tightly.
7. Tramapoline! Trambopoline!
During my 4th grade year, I decided to play a game of hide and seek with my siblings at night. I came up with the seemingly perfect plan to camouflage myself by covering my body with my large, black blanket and laying on our backyard trampoline. It was so peaceful and comfy that I unexpectedly drifted off to sleep.
My hiding place turned out to be so clever that none of my sisters were able to find me, and finally, our mom got pulled into their futile search efforts. Unbeknownst to me, still snoozing away, our parents started to panic. They, not able to locate me, concluded that I had run away.
As a result, they got into their vehicles and began scouring our local streets. After what my siblings told me was about 30 minutes, I finally woke up. From my vantage point on the trampoline, I could see into my room where I noticed the light was on and my mother pacing and chatting on the phone.
I had no way of knowing it at that moment, but she was on the line with the local authorities. Leaving my trampoline hideout wrapped in my black blanket, I casually strolled into the living room and plunked down on the couch just as my mom walked out of my room sobbing. I'll never forget the look on her face when she spotted me.
While my sisters were in our parents' room and our stepfather was still out searching for me, my mom questioned me intensely about my whereabouts. Not fully believing my explanation, she had me confirm my hide and seek story to the officers who soon arrived.
In a twist I hadn't anticipated, my mom arranged for those same officers to visit my school the following day for a discussion with me. I was mortified when the Dean walked into my 4th-grade class to escort me to the counselor’s office.
In there, they asked me roundabout questions about my future plans and home life, presumably to ascertain if I had any real intentions of running away. Surprisingly, the whole experience wasn't as awful as I thought, and on a brighter note, I got to skip some class time.
8. Locked In
Back when I was just a kid and a scout, we loved playing hide and seek in the dark. This was typically our choice of game each meeting for the final 15 minutes. We played in what was essentially a mid-sized cabin with numerous hiding spots and random items scattered around.
Oddly enough, a coffin was one of those items, but no one, to my knowledge, ever dared to hide in it. Perhaps because it's a coffin and generally seen as spooky, no one ventured to hide inside, until I, in my wisdom, decided to give it a shot.
Unfortunately, my hiding place was quickly discovered by another kid who was also seeking a place to hide. And what he did next was nothing short of a nightmare. He chose to lock the coffin—with me inside of it. As a result, I suffered from claustrophobia for some time after.
The boy who did this to me was named Marcus, a name I've truly disliked ever since.
9. My Sister's Screams
When I was eight, my little sister and I played hide and seek in the dark at our cousins' house. Our parents were nearby, relaxing, and drinking. We planned to stay the night with our cousins before heading to France by ferry the next day. It was my turn to be "it," so my sister and cousins scattered to find hiding places.
I quickly found my youngest cousin, and soon after, I discovered my sister camouflaged by a curtain on a windowsill. With a flourish, I pulled the curtain aside to uncover her. She jumped down and instantly collapsed into a sobbing heap, clutching her right butt cheek in pain.
I tried to soothe her as our other cousin hurried over to see what was up. Tears streaming down her face, she confessed she had accidentally hit the radiator concealed beneath the windowsill when she fell. Her tears wouldn't stop, so I led her to our parents, and she ended up calming down on my mom's lap.
Once she was composed, she reappeared to resume the game, but quickly broke down crying again. Again, I guided her back to our mom, who was now scrutinizing a small bloodstain on her white jeans. We then pieced together the incident—my sister had torn a sizeable 4 cm hole in her butt cheek when she fell onto the radiator's edge.
Luckily, our aunt, who is a doctor, was there. Despite having indulged in some drinks, she had my uncle drive them to the hospital, where she repaired my sister's wound. My sister was okay after all. But the story doesn't end there. The next morning, we parted ways with my cousins and boarded the ferry for our customary holiday in France.
Midway during our vacation, it was time to take out my sister's stitches. My father, anxious that a French hospital might scare her, decided to do it himself. I will never forget my sister's shrieks—they were truly chilling and they occasionally haunt my dreams.
Her injury left a mean-looking, purple scar which has slowly lightened over the past two decades. It's still quite noticeable. Each time I retell this story, I cringe.
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10. Never Hide In A Bathroom
In my preteen years, around the age of 11 or 12, I had a close-knit friendship with the neighboring kids. This group was made up of two brothers—one a year younger than me and the other a year older—and their sister who was a couple of years my senior.
I was basically a member of the family, constantly in their home playing games. One fateful day, we decided to have a go at hide and seek indoors. When it was my turn to hide, I found the perfect spot—behind the closed curtain in the shower stall. As the game progressed everyone else was found, except me.
While reveling in my perfect hiding spot, I heard the bathroom door creak open. Chattering sounds reached my ears as the brothers and their sister discuss my whereabouts. Then the door clicks shut again. Pleased with my secret location, I quietly hunkered down for the long haul. After a moment, I realized I may be in a situation I hadn't anticipated.
A familiar sound rang out—the toilet seat being lifted. My heart sank as I realized that the sister has decided to use the restroom, unaware of my presence just a curtain away. With every second that ticked by, I imagined my impending humiliation if she decided to check behind the curtain.
Doing my best to double down on my silence, I held my breath and prayed she wouldn't find me. Once I heard her leave, I bolted from my hiding spot, hoping to avoid any awkward questions. Unfortunately, my eagerness backfired and the siblings watched me sprint out of the bathroom.
The younger brother, without missing a beat, started claiming that his sister and I were in the bathroom together. I dismissed the accusation but my credibility was on the rocks as the sister looked at me, puzzled and suspicious.
Hoping to put this experience behind me, I took my return journey home as quickly as possible and decided to give our friendship a buffering break over the next few days.
11. Bloody And Bloodier
Let me share two unforgettable stories from my childhood. Both involve a scary game of hide and seek—one with my brother and another with a good friend from my early days.
So, I was about six years old when my family and I visited my uncle's place. He used to be a sort of do-it-yourself race car driver and had made this racing simulation chair. This homemade racing chair had all the details right down to foot pedals nailed onto little 2x4 boards. However, it had some pointy corners with sheet metal nailed on for extra strength.
All us kids thought it would be fun to play hide and seek, and we retreated to the basement where this chair was located. My brother thought he'd found a unique hiding spot behind the chair, but as luck would have it, he ended up slipping and falling head-first into that harmful sheet metal edge.
Well, it was quite a sight, just like something from a horror movie—his forehead was split wide open. Blood was splattered everywhere. He ended up with 13 stitches to close up that gory wound. It was one of the scariest things I'd seen in my young life...until our next hide and seek game, that is.
A few years later, we decided to play hide and seek on our neighbor's farm. At that point, they were replacing their tin-roofed barn, resulting in pieces of sharp, thin metal lying haphazardly on the ground next to round hay bales. Our friend, daring as ever, presumed it would be thrilling to climb the piled-up hay bales, reach the barn roof, and hide there.
His plan fell through when he jumped from the top bale, and his foot got entangled in the plastic straw, causing him to plummet onto one of those lurking tin shards. The sharp metal cut right through his throat. We all believed it was the end for him. The sight of blood smeared all over the barn and his painful screams made the scene chaotic.
In a panic, we him rushed to the hospital, where we were told that the tin had missed slicing his carotid artery by a hair. He was, without a doubt, the luckiest kid I knew. After that harrowing experience, hide and seek was off the table for us. We didn't need to formally declare it—we all silently agreed to avoid the game.
Ever since then, we've been more conscious of our playing habits to avoid future accidents.
12. Hit And Seek
Once, my professor's father was a notable attorney in Detroit, frequently taking on the local mafia in court. On a warm summer's day, when he was merely seven years old, the professor decided to sneak to work with his dad and hid himself in the backseat of the car that morning.
When they arrived at the law firm, he kept his secret and silently continued his hideout while his father went inside. Fast forward a few hours, his mother is in utter panic as she can't locate her son. Given her husband's line of work, it's a real concern that some vengeful gang has abducted their child.
Meanwhile, the professor is beginning to feel the effects of heatstroke, being trapped inside a car under the glaring mid-summer heat. Fortunately, his father discovers him when he returned to the car after receiving a call from his worried wife.
13. Coffin Camping
When I was around 12 years old, I found myself in the middle of a fun game of hide and seek during a church sleepover. It was such an exciting setting—a massive, dark building with countless extraordinary hiding spots. I combed through the church meticulously until I discovered the perfect spot in a secluded room next to the main worship area.
In one corner of the room, there laid what seemed to be a big, robust table with a striking marble surface. However, it had an elevated base rather than the usual legs. Intriguingly, it was partly draped with a heavy, oddly-scented fabric, and had additional "legs" in the center that were beautifully carved.
Undeterred, I climbed onto the lower section, drew the fabric over the edge to conceal myself, and nestled in. I huddled there for roughly 30 minutes, despite the eerie vibe. After all, ending up as the final one to be discovered felt like a victory, although everyone was visibly concerned by where I had chosen to hide.
At the time, I couldn't make sense of their reaction, until someone apprehensively produced a photo of the peculiar object in actual use. It was then that it dawned on me—I had been hiding under a stand used to support a coffin!
14. Hidey Hole
When I was just a kid of 3 years and a bit, my great-grandma was watching over my younger brother, a couple of our cousins, and yours truly. She thought it would be a fun idea to entertain us with a game of hide and seek, mostly because we couldn't open doors on our own without her assistance. However, this idea ended up being not so great.
I discovered a prime spot for hiding, nestled between a wall and a couch, with a small coffee table providing cover between the couch arm and the wall. So, I snuggled myself right under that coffee table. I ended up finding it so cozy that I drifted into a deep sleep (back in those days, I was quite the heavy sleeper).
My great-grandma, unable to find me and not receiving a response when she kept calling my name, started to panic, fearing I'd somehow slipped out of the house. In her worry, she dialed 9-1-1. The firefighters arrived promptly, asking her a series of basic questions about what had transpired.
Deciding to conduct a fast search of the house to be sure, one of the firefighters spotted a small, moving silhouette beneath the coffee table (that was me). He asked my grandma if she had a pet dog. She didn't. That's when they knew their search was over, and my grandma resolved never again to engage in a game of hide and seek with me.
That's the story of how I was given the lifelong nickname "Hidey," folks.
15. Trust Me. We're Sure.
When I was about 7 years old, we had a fun game night at our Grandma's. I joined in a little bit later than everyone else and patiently waited for either my brother or cousin to appear from around the house. The plan was simple—to outrun them back to our base. The moment they rounded the corner, I switched to sprint mode.
However, I wasn't aware of my surroundings and stumbled over the wire that was supporting a newly planted tree. Down I went, with my wrist landing unfortunately on a rock. I wasn't certain about what exactly happened, but I was sure of the serious pain I felt. I immediately went to seek help from my worried parents.
My dad paled when he saw me and without wasting a second, we rushed off to the hospital. At the emergency room, my dad informed the admissions nurse, "We urgently need a doctor, my son's arm is broken". Her response was somewhat sharp. She replied, "What makes you so confident about that?"
To answer, Dad gently unveiled the towel covering my wounded arm, and the clear evidence of injury shut her up. She couldn't help but repeat "Oh my God!" in shock. My dad had to assure her to remain calm so that I wouldn't get even more scared than I already was.
It ended up being quite a severe injury—a radial fracture of both the bones in my forearm, almost a compound fracture. Oddly, my memory of the injury primarily consists of noticing a few bulges on my arm, and not much else.
16. Baby Bee Bath
The recycling bins in our neighborhood used to just be these 80-liter buckets—they really resembled kiddie tubs. And my younger sister, bless her heart, had a bit of a tricky time with hide and seek. She was either the first one discovered in the blink of an eye, or she'd have us all running around the whole afternoon looking for her.
Clearly, she felt like she had a point to prove this particular round. She devised a plan to bunker down under one of these leftover bins in our yard, convinced that we wouldn't have a prayer at finding her. The bins were made of opaque black plastic, so there was no chance of seeing through.
But as I started my search, she sprung out, shrieking in discomfort. Turns out, she'd unwittingly invaded the home of a bunch of bees.
17. That Ain't Water
During one evening after church service, my friends and I were hanging out around a brand-new dirt pile, placed right beside the church building. As one of my buddies started to count for a game, a friend and I sought refuge behind the pile.
Gradually, we found ourselves moving further and further backwards until unexpectedly, I stumbled and landed in a hidden, water-filled cavity. Alerting my friend about the unexpected pitfall, I was soon joined by another abrupt splash...
After a while, my friend curiously said, "I don't think this is water..." It was at that moment that a nauseating smell hit us. The puzzling discovery of an oversized water-filled hole behind the dirt pile suddenly made sense—we had stumbled into an open septic tank undergoing maintenance.
The memory of that ride back home with my mom, with two children reeking of raw waste, is one we couldn't forget. She wasn’t too amused having to endure a 20-minute ride trapped with the stinky duo. My friend who initially had been counting for the game, however, found the entire episode to be a barrel of laughs.
18. The Webs From All The Spiders
While playing a game of hide and seek with my cousins, I found a cozy spot behind a brush pile in my grandparents' backyard. I remained unseen, tucking myself away for about ten minutes, listening to the others being located one by one. I felt good about my hiding powers, seeing myself as more skilled than my cousins.
Then, an itchy sensation started to creep over my arms and neck. I looked down and to my horror, realized I was amidst hundreds of freshly hatched spiders. The egg sac they had emerged from was nestled in the brush pile itself. I bolted from the spot as quickly as my legs could carry me. Just recalling the event gives me itchy goosebumps.
19. The Greatest Spots Have The Greatest Risk
When one of my buddies was around 13 or 14, he took part in a large game of hide and seek at his house. Their garage was unbelievably cluttered, stuffed with a random assortment of items to the point where you had to clamber over or squeeze between stuff. He thought it would be the perfect place to hide.
To make it even trickier for the seekers, he decided to conceal himself by lying on some beams above the garage door track. Things went disastrously wrong from there. He somehow lost his balance and plummeted down a 10-feet drop onto a jumble of bicycles, bags of clothing, car parts, and the like.
In his scramble to arrest his fall, he attempted to cling onto the beam he had been lying on but instead just managed to graze the garage door track. The first finger on his left hand made contact precisely on the last knuckle before the tip.
The part of the garage door track that his finger hit had a v-shape that cleanly cut off the tip of his finger. He landed in the heap of odds and ends, bleeding heavily and screaming in agony. He was quickly rushed to the hospital.
His family, meanwhile, frantically searched for the severed fingertip in hopes that the doctors could surgically reattach it. They found it, still nestled in the v-shaped section of the track. Regrettably, they didn't know they should preserve it by placing it on ice.
These days, we occasionally jest and call him "nine and three-quarters," indicative of the number of fingers he now has.
20. The Most Ingenious Spot
One spring, when my younger sister and I were about 5 and 10 respectively, we decided to play a game of hide and seek. I took on the role of the seeker, while my younger sister (who we can call M for now) hid somewhere in the house.
After searching for her extensively and not being able to find her, I told my mom that M was nowhere to be found, despite me admitting defeat and declaring her the winner. This spurred a house-wide search for her. Given that our backyard was considerably large and populated with a variety of trees, I thought to look there.
My theory was that maybe little M had gotten tired and dozed off somewhere. When she still didn't show up, my grandparents and mom grew increasingly concerned and ended up calling 9-9-9, which is the phone number for emergency services in the UK.
When the officers arrived at our residence, they inquired about her last known location and what she was wearing. They even offered to deploy a helicopter to aid in the search effort. So where did we ultimately find her, you may ask?
Well, it turns out she was hidden behind the door leading to our study room all along. Clearly, I am not exactly a pro at the hide and seek game...
21. Rusty Nails And Broken Phones
We played a game of hide and seek in total darkness at a buddy's house while his parents were away for the weekend. We had to depend entirely on our phone flashlights to find hiding places or to seek out those hiding. My pal and I eventually chose to conceal ourselves in his front yard near the pool pump, which was partially hidden by a short brick wall.
I hoisted myself up into a tree, but due to my legs being drawn up close to my chest, I found my pockets too tight to hold my phone. So, I opted to store my phone in my shirt pocket. As for my friend, he chose to hide behind the pool pump where my other friend (the house owner) stored his old, worn-out childhood toys, including a small plastic slide.
The hiding area, largely obscured by bushes, masked the clutter from view. While perched in the tree, I noticed my buddy, who had hidden by the pool pump, limping towards the house. Although unclear about what could have happened, I sensed some trouble.
He had carelessly leapt into the seclusion of the bushes, inadvertently landing on a broken plank that housed a rusty nail. The nail pierced through his shoe and into his foot. Seeing him limping back inside, I resolved to abandon my hiding spot and assist him. But, being all flustered, I forgot that my phone was in my shirt pocket.
I leaped down from the tree, and just as I hit the ground—plop. My phone fell out and splattered on the ground, screen shattered into countless pieces. This was quite an unfortunate twist of events, to say the least.
22. Tanks A Lot
Once upon a time, a group of my pals and I decided to pay a visit to an apartment of another friend to simply hang around. We chose to engage in a game of hide and seek, but in teams as we were quite a crowd. We thought it would make the game more fun than having one sole seeker.
I happened to be on the team tasked with searching for the hidden ones. After we divided into our groups, the hunt began. I made my way to the rear end of the building which was largely vacant except for a little shed that housed a rooftop water tank. This tank was accessible through a ladder.
On the adjacent roof, I caught sight of some of my mateys and started my ascent to tag them. Spotting me climbing up, they commenced fretting. I'm certain one of them even leaped off the roof in panic. Nonetheless, one buddy, acting on a whim, decided to dive into the tank.
His rationale was most likely that it would be filled with water. He was gravely mistaken. The tank was devoid of water, spare for a minor puddle at the bottom. I watched as he took the leap...and then I heard him collide with the tank's base. I sprinted to the tank's aperture and peered inside, but it was too dark to see anything.
The abysmal silence terrified me as I couldn't see or hear anything. Eventually, we had to ask the building guard for an intervention. Happily, my friend was alright, save for a sprained ankle. But the guard wasn't pleased and we were scolded quite sternly.
23. Hide And Sleep
In my younger years, my buddies and I had a blast playing hide and seek across our entire block. The rules were simple—hide anywhere you want, be it inside your house or in an outdoor spot; all locations were fair game. You could only imagine how long these gaming sessions would get.
It was on a sunny afternoon, and around ten of us were in on the game. One pal came up with the idea to hide in his wardrobe and, to his own surprise, fell asleep when none of us were able to find him. For the next few hours, we turned over every nook and corner of our street, but he was nowhere to be found.
With no other option, we had to let his parents know we were unable to find him. Scared out of their wits, they dialed 9-1-1. The incident triggered a lockdown of the entire block, and an amber alert was speedily cascaded to call for his search. Luckily, he woke up later that night. As you can guess, we never played hide and seek after that incident.
24. BOOM BAM SMACK
I was residing in a double-decked townhouse made of brick. My elder sibling was tasked with taking care of me and he brought over several of his pals for a fun time. They opted to engage in a game of hide and seek. There was one friend amongst them who had never visited our home prior to this, let's fondly refer to him as J.
Our choice fell on him to be the seeker upon whom the duty was to hunt down the concealed players. In order to amplify the thrill of the game, we turned out all the house lights. Not exactly the smartest idea. Whilst everyone was running around looking for a perfect hiding spot, we all could hear him count upstairs and then the sound of his footsteps getting closer to the staircase.
In the pitch darkness, I couldn't see a thing, all I could hear was a series of resounding thumps followed by a groan. Everyone froze for a moment, but soon he managed to gather himself up, leaving us all in fits of laughter. However, thinking back, it could have ended quite terribly.
25. Yes. You Won.
Growing up, my best friend was a socially awkward and totally clueless person. He had, and still has, so many stories that would make you think he's such a goof. He's a great person, but he's always a little out of sync. I wasn't the most popular kid around either, but everyone always preferred to hang out at my place.
Perhaps it was the sprawling yard or my mom's constant cooking. One day, my house was filled with about eight kids; we were playing hide and seek. As afternoon slipped into evening, hide and seek morphed into an even more thrilling game of hide and seek in the dark (seriously, it's the best).
It was then time for dinner, so we all trooped into the house, ate, and settled down in front of the TV to watch a movie. To our surprise, my friend stumbles in, proclaiming loudly, "I WON!" Turns out, he had been outside, dutifully hiding unaware for hours on end.
26. Don't Know My Own Strength
A memorable summer after our senior year of high school, we gathered at a friend's house for one last hurrah before college. Imagine my surprise when, lo and behold, the girl I'd been crushing on throughout high school walks in. We ended up deciding to play hide and seek. Only, we ramped up the stakes a bit—this was going to be hide and seek in pitch darkness.
Of course, I found myself in the role of seeker during the game. Confronting a stubborn door (with a couple of people, including the girl, hidden behind it), I decided to muster up some courage and push through. Being cautious, I just used my arms with minimal effort—unsure of what or who I might disturb on the other side.
As it turned out, a friend of ours had jammed a mini trampoline against the door. After a few efforts, the door finally gave in. We played on until the game wrapped up. Next thing we knew, as the lights switched on, we all spotted the remnants of my strength test. I'd accidentally snapped the door right off its hinges.
The door had flipped in such a dramatic way that one edge pierced into the ceiling, damaging a large pipe. Due to this, it hadn't crashed onto the floor, sparing us the noise and immediate shock. The damage remained undiscovered until our "game over".
You can imagine my panic—the fear of being this big destructor, especially on a night when my crush was present. As soon as the lights came on, the friend who'd used the trampoline as a door-block jolted. We didn't even dial the host's parents before he'd made a run for it.
Following this, we all scrambled to fix the door while receiving caricature compliments from some friends. They were telling my crush, "Look how strong he is, totally throwback to his powerful arms, LOL". Despite the initial chaos, everything smoothed over and it's a funny memory we all share now.
27. Actual Nightmare Fuel
I get to tell my tale at last. When I was a kid, my sister, a couple of pals, and I were playing hide and seek in our home. I assumed I'd found the perfect hiding spot: behind the chair in our living room, a place often employed as a storage spot for knitting needles.
Back then, I was on heavy medication for epilepsy which affected my thought process quite substantially. Without much thought, I ducked down directly onto the needles. BIG MISTAKE. It's a bit of an embarrassment, but...well, the needles ended up piercing my sensitive area in several spots.
Immediately, I jumped up to the sight of my blood-soaked shorts. Panicking, I dashed to my dad who visibly recoiled at the gruesome sight. Blood was oozing out of my… you know where. Knowing time was of the essence, he rushed me to the hospital.
As it turns out, everything turned out pretty okay in the end. All faculties still function correctly, despite some scarring. However, the conclusion of the hide and seek game still remains a mystery.
28. The Clock Is Ticking
Once, when I was a puny five-year-old at a family gathering, I was playing chase with my cousins, who were between the ages of 7 and 12. In the midst of our game, I sought refuge in a secluded bedroom at the back of the house.
Suddenly, I could hear my cousin's footsteps approaching, which made my heart race with panic. That's when disaster struck. I stumbled and crashed into a massive antique grandfather clock standing stately in the corner.
The high-pile carpet didn't offer much stability for the towering clock, so it wobbled precariously before tumbling over. With a thud, it landed on me, nailing me to the floor under its 300-pound weight. Its crushing heaviness made it impossible for me to draw a breath or let out a scream for help.
The loud crash lured my cousins to the scene. They were paralyzed by the sight of me trapped under the clock. After a moment of high-strung panic, they decided to get the grown-ups. But it was a wild reunion going on outside, and the adults were not pleased with the interruption.
The clamor of children upset them and they started chastising them. They couldn't fathom the dire situation until one brave cousin stuttered out the truth about me being stuck under the clock, unable to breathe. The revelation flipped a switch and the whole family rushed back to free my unconscious little body from under the clock.
29. Broken Sardines
We used to love playing this fun game called Sardines. The rules were simple—only one person has to hide while everyone else finds them. Once they do, they then hide together. Whoever finds the group last ends up losing. The game was pure hilarity as all of us tried to squeeze ourselves into some very small hiding places.
We used to rent a chateau in France every other year during Christmas, which was perfect as it brought all 16-plus members of my family together. The chateau was massive and really cool. It had stuff like a cellar and three different stairways. There were simply too many spots to hide, which made the game all the more fun.
It didn't take long to convince our grandparents to join us. But things started to heat up as the game grew more competitive. Unfortunately, during one wild scramble between my cousins and my grandad, he ended up tumbling down the stairs and broke his leg.
That was the end of Sardines for us during that holiday.
30. That's One Way To Christen The New House
My brother and I, along with some kids from the neighborhood, were enjoying a game of hide and seek in our brand new house. We'd just settled in and our game was a fantastic way to explore our new surroundings. I was the seeker and based on the noises, it seemed someone had fled upstairs.
After a few unsuccessful room checks, I headed to the room my brother and I shared, our bunk bed already safely installed. I decided to look under the bed and just as I was raising my head, my brother leaped out, shrieking, "BOO!" Stunned, I recoiled instantly and managed to clip my head against the sharp corner of a wooden table.
My screams echoed throughout the house as I rushed to mom, my face smeared with blood. That incident ended with me getting five staples in my head and a shocking blood-stained memory in our pristine house. Ah, the good times and wild memories!
31. Not So Cute
When I was much younger, I thought it would be fun to play a prank on my parents. I think they'd gone for a stroll or something, and as soon as I heard the front door crack open, I decided to play a prank by hiding under their bed covers. It was like an unexpected game of hide and seek.
They kept calling out my name, and once there was no response, they started frantically searching for me all over our home. I felt so cunning at that time, believing they were silly for not spotting me under the blankets. However, as I look back now, I realize it was quite a thoughtless act from my side.
After a few minutes of staying hidden, I finally revealed myself, only to be immediately scolded with strong words for making them worry so much. They sternly told me never to do that ever again.
32. Look In The Trunk
When we were just kids, my brothers and sisters and I loved playing a good game of hide and seek in our family home. One day, my six-year-old sister chose the upstairs closet as her hiding spot, tucking herself away in an empty storage trunk. It was an excellent hideout—perhaps a bit too excellent.
She got so comfortable that she drifted off to sleep and, despite us calling her name and telling her the game was finished, she was lost in dreamland and didn't respond. We continued to search for her, but after a while, our panic-stricken parents got involved. Their worst fears took over and they ended up dialing 9-1-1.
Officers arrived swiftly, blocking off the neighborhood, and calling for additional assistance to look for my sister. The main speculation was that she had been abducted while seeking an outdoor hiding spot. For the following nerve-wracking couple of hours, our household was in a state of extreme panic and worry.
Finally, my sister woke up from her nap, oblivious to the chaos. Casually, she sauntered downstairs and nonchalantly began munching on some goldfish crackers at the kitchen table. A few minutes later, my mother and the officers walked into the kitchen. To have been able to see the look on their faces at that moment.
I imagine it must have been a complex mix of rage, humiliation, happiness, and sheer relief. Suffice it to say, my sister proved that day that she was rather too skilled at hide and seek for her own safety.
33. Don't Mess With The Dolls
My buddy resides in a massive home, and whenever his parents were away, our entire group of friends would engage in games of hide and seek. Though it's been almost two years since our last game since we've all started college, it still remains a memorable pastime.
His dad had a collection of these odd Mexican mariachi band dolls that was honestly a bit spine-chilling. According to him, the dolls were possibly haunted and peculiar things would occur if we disturbed them. I was pretty skeptical until an unexpectedly terrifying day.
These dolls all had bodies that resembled small animals like cats or bunnies, with heads eerily human-like in appearance. On one particular evening while we were gaming, my buddy Todd and I were in charge of finding our hidden friends.
Little did we know, one of our buddies had taken the guitar-playing doll and placed it on the dinner table, which was at the end of a really long corridor. As we entered the room, our attention was first drawn to underneath the table where we initially thought a friend was hiding, only to then notice the doll.
Naturally it startled us, but we brushed it off. As I was moving around the table, suddenly the cabinet doors the doll was facing flung open and smacked into my knee and gut. Various items spilled out from the cabinet and, needless to say, Todd and I ran for our lives in the opposite direction.
We immediately summoned all our friends out of their hiding places to show them the strange happening. After the incident, we returned the doll to its designated spot in the basement with its fellow figurines, vowing never to mess with them again.
34. Nice Kitty...Kitty?
Back when I was in the 7th grade, my best buddy and I involved my little sister in a classic game of hide and seek. The game took a turn when my friend chose to hide under my grandpa's bed—a suitable choice given that my grandfather lived with us.
As he negotiated his way into hiding, he stumbled upon my cat, comfortably nestled in the darkness under the bed. He instinctively reached out to stroke her, but soon, the unsettling reality hit him. She was utterly motionless and cold to touch.
The cold realization forced him to come find me, anxiously announcing, "Your cat is...I think your cat is..." Wide-eyed and startled, I responded, "Where!? We lost her months ago!" My parents were alerted, and swiftly, they arranged for Stanley Steamers to take care of the cleaning duties under the bed.
You see, my cat had a fondness for sauntering down the storm drain, so when she disappeared being quite elderly, we thought she just wandered off into some storm drain. Interesting enough, there was no foul smell. She was strangely and completely odor-free.
35. Just Act Natural
During my time in boarding school, weekend trips home to see family were a common occurrence. On one particular Sunday, I saw my buddy being dropped off by his dad down at the parking area. Feeling cheeky, I dashed into his study and tucked myself in his closet, hoping to catch him off guard by popping out unexpectedly.
While I was hidden away, I heard the distinctly familiar voice of his dad. His dad had given him a hand with some luggage and now the two of them were in the study, indulged in conversation as I was huddled inside the closet. Not long after, my friend swung open the closet door to put some items inside, only to find me squatting there.
In an instant, I was at a loss for words, and all I could manage was, "Hey there, Darrell". Swiftly, I clambered out of the closet and strolled out of the room. In retrospect, I can't help but wonder how utterly strange that scenario must have been from his perspective.
36. A Horrible Ending
A while back, a trio of young boys were engrossed in a game of hide and seek. One adventurous kid decided to hide in an old, abandoned freezer in their garage. Back then, these types of freezers automatically locked when shut, and they were air-tight to boot.
The neighboring folks looked for the youngster for what seemed like an eternity before his parents made the distressing call to 9-1-1, reporting their little one missing. Upon arrival, the officers asked, "Do any of you own any old refrigerators or freezers?"
Everyone sprinted towards the garage freezer, but sadly, it was too late. According to reports, there were signs of kicking from the interior of the freezer lid—a devastating sight.
37. All I Want For Christmas...
The seeker caught up to me, yet thankfully, I managed to run away. But while I was running, I tripped on a step, resulting in the loss of a couple of loose teeth. Despite them being easy to lose, the metallic taste in my mouth and sight of blood everywhere is something I'll never forget.
38. Sinkhole Spill
As I chatted with my cousin, looking for the perfect spot to hide, I failed to see the small sinkhole just ahead. I tumbled forward into it, while my cousin mistook my fall for a found hiding place and scampered off. A sharp object I landed on—I'm still unsure what it was to this day—made a deep wound just below my knee.
I can still conjure up the image of blood trickling down my calf. And the moment they pulled up the hem of my shorts to take a peek? The sight of my own bone under that wound will forever be imprinted in my memory. As you might imagine, my day ended with an unexpected trip to the emergency room and a series of five stitches.
Not the best kind of adventure.
39. Shoulda Put An "H" On That Shed
A few years ago, my closest buddy and I participated in a game of hide and seek, along with a few girls we went to high school with. This took place at a park, and as it got dark, we decided to play the game—yes, the kind of thing only carefree high school kids would think of doing.
I nestled myself in a tree shrouded with leaves, offering decent cover unless someone happened to stand directly beneath and look up. I was rather proud of my crafty hiding spot. On the other hand, my friend holed up in a shed that was left unlocked, stuffed with various garden tools such as hoes, a water hose, and a shovel.
As he lurked inside, he touched what felt like paper, not realising the startling reality until it was far too late. He had unknowingly disturbed a hive of hornets and suffered a barrage of about 175 stings. Consequently, he had to endure an overnight stay in the hospital.
40. Gremlins 3
When I was just a little kid staying over at my grandma's place, I had this habit of playing hide and seek, with me hiding and her seeking! One time, I made a decision to hide in the closet located in her backroom. And oh boy, that closet was packed with stuff she had accumulated over the years. This one time though, it took her ages to discover my hiding spot.
So, there I was, adjusting myself to create a comfy little spot amongst the clutter. Unfortunately, my fidgeting shook an upper shelf and something that resembled a Gremlin dropped straight onto me! As it turns out, it was actually a taxidermy baby alligator that I had never laid my eyes on before.
Needless to say, I was scared out of my wits. I immediately shoved it away from me, but it was so old and fragile that a leg crumbled and fell apart in my hands. That moment may or may not have led to a little accident in my pants. Needless to say, I swore off hide and seek for the rest of my life.
41. Jimmy's Not A Friend Of Mine
My home features a second-floor deck that connects to a notably high and steep rooftop. This unique feature was well known among my friends. Once, when I was hosting a gathering, a friend of mine, who I'll refer to as Jimmy, decided he'd venture up to the roof, disregarding my clear rules and warnings about the dangers involved.
That day, I was it for a game of hide-and-seek. As my search commenced, I was on the lookout from the deck when I heard unusual noise coming from the roof. I went up intending to find and reprimand the friend behind the commotion. As expected, it was Jimmy.
My sudden appearance seemed to have startled him tremendously and caused him to lose control, resulting in him falling off the drastically steep roof and subsequently injuring his right arm and leg. Jimmy's high-pitched scream filled the air and I'm convinced it could be heard from a mile away.
I quickly retraced my steps back to where he fell. My dad, who was in the vicinity, came over as well, visibly in a state of shock. I updated him on the situation and he immediately contacted Jimmy’s parents. Being nearby neighbors, they arrived on the scene within minutes. However, what unfolded next was an unexpected twist.
In a surprising move, they held me responsible for Jimmy's accident and decided to pursue legal action. The case ended up in court where I explained my side of the situation. The judge, considering the grounds of the case, ruled in my favor and dismissed the charges.
In an ironic turn of events, Jimmy's parents were fined for wasting court time with a baseless lawsuit. Needless to say, that friendship didn't survive.
42. Instant Regret
My little brother is really small and remarkably agile. We affectionately joke during family gatherings that "if he fits, he sits" because he can squeeze himself into just about any spot, no matter how packed the space may be.
I remember this one time during our childhood when we were playing hide and seek, and I figured out that he had chosen to hide in our clothes dryer, with the door shut. This was typical behavior for him.
In the spirit of being the typical older brother, I figured I'd give him a bit of a fright and switch the dryer on, only to switch it off almost immediately. However, unless you've operated a dryer, you wouldn't know that you switch it off by just opening the door—there's no actual off button.
At the age of 9, I had no experience of operating a dryer and was looking for an off button. You can probably guess what occurred next. He was spun round and round inside the dryer while I frantically called out for our parents’ assistance. They immediately responded, instructing me to open the door while they sprinted over.
Thankfully, he emerged from the event completely uninjured, despite experiencing close to 10 revolutions inside the dryer. It certainly could have ended a lot worse, but we're able to chuckle about it now.
43. Always Check The Coats
When I was a little one, I remember indulging in a lively game of hide and seek with my cousins at a family get-together held at my aunt and uncle's place. I chose to hide inside a closet, concealed by a wall of coats (I must confess, it was an ingenious hiding spot).
After an enduring period of waiting and with no sign of anyone discovering my hideout, I grew impatient and decided to emerge. To my surprise, I found everyone—grownups included—in a state of turmoil, desperately searching for me. Bewildered, they enquired about my whereabouts.
I was left scratching my head as I had only been veiled behind the coats in the closet for a mere 10 minutes of the hide and seek game. Or so I thought! In reality, it had been a whopping 45 minutes. My folks concluded that I must have dozed off in the cozy and dark confines of the closet, only to wake up without any inkling about my brief snooze.
44. Locked In The Trunk Of A Car
When I was around 8 years old, a couple of neighborhood kids and I were playing a game of hide and seek. The father of one of my friends was an officer and had one of those outdated squad cars at home. Understanding the weak spot in the car's security, my friend managed to jimmy open the trunk with his finger where the lock was broken.
He decided to use this as his hiding spot. At that moment, I was the one on the mission to find him. My friend, playing tricks, led me to the slightly ajar trunk. As I approached, he jumped up, intending to give me a surprise. My reaction was even more surprising when I humorously, or at least that's what I thought, slammed down the trunk.
It was only after the clap of the lock that we realized we couldn't open it again. His terrified screams were deafening. The fear of confessing to his father kept me and the other kid from knocking on his door. Our childish minds imagined our punishment like a scene straight from an old movie—we would be thrown behind bars.
Amid our anxious attempts to free our friend, I heard my name echoing from my house—grandma had come over and dinner was ready. In hindsight, what I did next is nothing noteworthy, really. Pretending all was well, I sat down for dinner with my heart pounding in my chest, while my friend remained captive in the trunk.
I wolfed down my meal, mumbled some excuse under my breath, and hurried back out. By the time I got back, my friend had located a latch inside the trunk and had managed to free himself. We ended up not having to confess to his father and my parents never found out about the incident.
Just the other day, I was reminiscing about this story with my partner and we shared a good laugh. Thought you guys might enjoy hearing about it too.
45. You're Lion
When I was around 8 or 9, we attended a massive church youth event. It was a campout that took place at a cabin in the Utah mountains, belonging to the family of one of the kids. One of the activities we engaged in that night was a game of hide and seek, played in complete darkness, with only our flashlights to guide us.
There I was, tucked away in my hiding spot. I decided to switch off my flashlight so I wouldn't be detected, and as I looked up, I saw two shimmering eyes low to the ground, staring directly at me. Feeling petrified, I stood rooted to the spot and let out a scream of terror.
In the midst of my fear, I tossed my flashlight in the direction of the eyes (I wasn't the smartest kid back then). At my scream, a group of children and adults hurried over to where I was, calling out my name and sweeping their flashlights around. I would later discover that a mountain lion had been observing–or stalking—me that night.
46. When You're Too Good At Hiding
When I was around seven or eight years old, my little sister and I were having a blast playing a game of hide and seek at our parents' home. This round was my opportunity to hide. At that moment, my mother was in the middle of her shower, so I cleverly decided to pick the bathroom's lock and squeeze myself into the cupboard under the sink.
I felt like a mastermind, certain that my sister wouldn't discover me tucked away in that spot. In my hidden hiding place, I waited patiently for her to uncover me, but just then, my mother finished her shower (she was equally unaware of my presence in the bathroom). Unexpectedly, my father also walked into the bathroom. That's when I made a horrifying realization.
To make a potentially long story short, they began getting intimate without realizing I was still hiding under the sink. Fear, shame, and utter disbelief had me frozen in my spot, unable to voice out my presence. As you could guess, I reacted in the most awkward way possible.
Like a statue, I continued hunkered in my position, my every sense alert. After they wrapped up and departed, I remained under the sink, gripped by a mix of revulsion and morbid curiosity, replaying what I'd unfortunately witnessed.
After I was confident that it was safe, I bolted out of my hiding spot, only to find my younger sister thoroughly engrossed in a TV show, having totally forgotten about our ongoing game.
47. A True Nightmare
When I was about seven or eight years old, I was playing a game of hide and seek at a buddy's place. I remember sprinting to find a hiding spot behind his house, and as I took the corner, I stepped onto the metal grate covering the basement's escape window.
Suddenly, it collapsed under my weight, and before I even knew it, I was tumbling down, scraping my arms, legs, and head against the rough edges on my way down. As I landed, I tried to take stock of where I was, and I couldn't help but let out a scream.
I found myself at the bottom of a pit filled with grimy gravel, studded with the scattered and decaying remains of countless frogs. It got worse as I disturbed a bunch of spider webs that spanned in all directions. I looked in horror as a swarm of oversized spiders scuttled towards me.
I was sprawled out on the ground, feeling the warmth of what seemed to be a substantial amount of blood oozing from my elbows, knees, and forehead. I began my desperate climb back to the surface via a ladder that seemed to stretch on forever, crying and yelling for help the whole way up.
Each rung was swarming with more spiders, and some managed to hitch a ride up my arms. I finally resurfaced, greeted by my friend's mom trying to console me, but her attempts were essentially fruitless. Despite the whole ordeal only lasting about 15 seconds in reality, it felt like an eternity played out in slow motion.
And even now, I'm wary of anything involving metal grates like storm drains or city sidewalk vents. And, understandably, I developed a deep-seated phobia of spiders.
48. Leap Of Faith
It was the day following my older brother's 10th birthday bash. His crew hadn't left after the festive sleepover, so it was a busy morning at my folks' place. Their house boasted a completely kitted-out basement, which was our favourite playground.
Five-year-old me was quite adept at the game of hide and seek given my small frame which made for excellent camouflage. However, on this day, my hiding place choice took a turn for the worse. I decided to take cover behind our mammoth tube TV and its stand, a relic that was easy to hide behind given its massive 30-inch screen.
Next to the stand was a rack designed to house our VHS collection. I managed to sneak on top of the subwoofer and disappear from sight if anyone happened to look from the TV's facing angle. It seemed like the perfect setup, but boy, was I wrong.
The catastrophe unfolded when I realized I was about to be found. I instantly thought of dashing towards the safety of the home base. However, Joe was standing like a hawk, monitoring the only easy escape route from behind the TV. With the naive reasoning of a youngster, I figured I could sail over the DVDs, dodge Joe, and claim safety.
Let's just say I didn't stick my landing. I tripped, tumbled over the rack, and crashed into the glass coffee table, shattering it into a million pieces. It was a swift ride to the hospital, where the doctors had to stitch up my chest where the bits of glass had embedded. I was told that a mere millimeter more and the glass could have punctured my heart.
Despite repeated warnings from our parents who had always frowned upon this basement getaway game, we never really got the memo until this incident. A wise person once said, rules make sense only when you acknowledge why they were set in the first place.
49. The Pits
When I was about seven years old, we were having a fun game of flashlight tag in our neighborhood. This is essentially a game of hide-and-seek, where we play after the sun's gone down. I decided to hide in a nearby backyard, close to a trampoline.
Suddenly, I heard strange noises coming from behind me. I was too scared to move because I thought the person who was 'it' was nearby. If only I knew what it really was, I would've taken off like a shot. Unexpectedly, I heard a chain noise. The next thing I knew, a pit bull had clamped its jaws on the back of my leg and wouldn't let go.
I was lying there, frightened, screaming my lungs out until my brother finally found me. He bravely managed to get the dog to release its grip and run away. However, the dog ended up taking a piece of my leg with it. The doctors had to use some fat from my butt to patch up the wound.
Now, I've got this wicked scar on the back of my leg to remind me of that horrifying event.
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50. The Horror! The Horror!
Back in the day, my brothers, sisters, and I lived in a huge suburban house that had a massive finished basement. It was the kind of basement that felt like it extended to infinity. When our cousins visited, we loved to engage in a high-stakes game of hide and seek tag, with all the lights turned off.
That basement could become as dark as night, especially when we blocked off the only source of natural light—a small window. We spiced things up a bit by setting a rule that everyone had to crawl throughout the game. So picture this—we're all on our hands and knees, tucked away in our hideaways in complete darkness.
Suddenly, I heard the seeker "catch" my brother and the game of tag on knees kicked off. These guys were zipping all over the basement. Suddenly, a horrifying scream cut through the darkness. As the eldest sibling, I felt it was my duty to figure out what was wrong. I raced to the light switch and froze the game where it stood.
My brother then shows me his hands and they were smeared in...dog poop. Turns out our dog had sneaked down to the basement when no one was around and did his business smack in the middle of the room. And poor brother, in his high-speed chase, had crawled right through it!
This incident, which happened 20 years ago, has become a legendary tale in our family gatherings, a hilarious reminder of when a harmless game of tag took a truly stinky turn.
Sources: Reddit
