Sometimes when we’re faced with something bizarre, terrifying, or so out of the realm of our normal experience, we’re hit with an overwhelming urge to explain it. We often think that rationalizing this will give it less power. But, how do we explain the unexplainable? These Redditors gazed into an abyss…and the abyss gazed back.
1. Deja Vu
During my high school years, every evening, my mum, my younger sister, and I would gather around the dinner table and share stories about our day. Back then, my sister was just a little girl in elementary school. On one occasion, during the summer break, my sister surprised us with an odd tale.
She narrated how the cat of our neighbors, who lived next door, had escaped and they had spent the entire day seeking it. Fast forward to two days later, my sister retold the same story. Both my mum and I were baffled because we remembered her telling us this exact story two days ago.
When we questioned her, my sister seemed clueless and claimed she didn't remember telling this story before. What creeped us out further was the neighbor's response – the cat saga happened on that very Wednesday, two days after my sister's first narration, and they weren't even home on Monday. To this day, we have no clue how my sister knew about the incident before it actually happened or what she was up to that Monday.
2. Mystery Man
My childhood memories are filled with visits to my mother's OB-GYN in downtown Austin. His office was in a hospital building, on the fifth floor. The receptionist, named Alison, was an effervescent woman who would entertain us kids while my mother attended her appointments.
We fondly referred to her as Alison Wonderland. Later on, when I was expecting and in search of an OB-GYN, my mother suggested I see if the doctor, still young when I was a child, was still practicing. However, I failed to find his name in the hospital directory. Coincidentally, my mother was in town then and decided to accompany me to the doctor's office. To our bewilderment, the building didn't have a fifth floor.
We thought we had misremembered the floor and tried fourth – but the situation remained the same. We even contemplated it being the wrong building. But we were certain it was the right one because we followed the same route from the old parking garage. We never found the doctor's existence in any record.
Our birth certificates didn't name him either. No one except us seemed to remember Dr. Wonderland and Alison Wonderland. We only had these memories, which now seemed fabricated.
3. The Dinosaur Room
Before closing the deal on our new house, my husband and I revisited it with our three-year-old daughter. She hadn't been there the first time. On entering, I told her she could pick a bedroom. To our surprise, she decided on "the Dinosaur Room" before sprinting upstairs.
A few moments later, she announced she'd found it. When we caught up with her, we found dinosaur stickers adorning the walls of her chosen room's closet. None of us remembered seeing them on our first visit, but we were all truly spooked.
We decided to leave the stickers up, as a nod to the unexplained mystery of our 'vacant' property purchase.
4. Shadowy Figure
Looking back to my childhood, around the age of seven or eight, I suffered from severe sleep paralysis. One particular night, I experienced a terrifying episode that was different from any I'd experienced before. As I lay paralyzed, I began to hear an unsettling static noise, and I saw what seemed to be an adult-sized shadow at the foot of my bed.
From my understanding of sleep paralysis, I knew it's common to hallucinate, as it's a way for the mind to defend itself. However, it was the later events of that night that shook me to my core. I fell asleep and dreamed the exact same scenario, but this time I could move and speak.
Out of terror, I started thrashing about the room, yelling and throwing objects. The shadow then stood up, opened my bedroom door, and walked away. When I woke in the morning, I found my room in chaos, just like it was in the dream, with my bedroom door ajar. The realism of the dream disturbed me, and to date, the memory haunts me as vividly as the day it happened.
5. Two Roads Diverged In A Wood
Just last night, I was sharing my day's experiences with my girlfriend over the phone. I ended my conversation with the phrase, "It shouldn't be like that." Then I heard some static, and then an echo of my voice saying an alternate version of the sentence - "It shouldn't be that way."
The call then returned to normal and my girlfriend didn't recall which phrase she heard first. So now I wonder, did I somehow switch to a parallel universe where I chose to phrase my sentence differently?
6. A Premonition
This spooky instance took place over ten years ago, yet it's still etched in my memory. As a child of about nine or ten, my bunk bed had a ladder which hooked onto a metal base. It was a bit unsafe, but I managed fine. One day, I was at my friend's place, watching an early 2000 show, possibly The Amanda Show, when I started seeing surreal images.
These were transparent images slightly intermingling with my actual surroundings. I saw myself back in my room, with my friend and brother by my side, and a small table behind me, as I began climbing my ladder. Suddenly, I felt a jolt of falling backwards, slammed back to reality, heart pounding and thoroughly shaken.
I shared this weird experience with my friend, and after a bit, managed to push it out of my mind. A few hours later, upon deciding to spend the night at my friend's house, we went back to my place to grab some things. I then realized in a chilling déjà vu that my ladder was unhooked, and had I climbed it, I would have fallen back against the small table - exactly like my dream!
I still can't figure out how it happened, my mom had unhooked the ladder to prevent my little brother from climbing, but she didn't know I'd arrive to collect stuff for my sleepover. It freaked me out to discover my mom removed the ladder when I was away.
7. It’s Always The Last Place You Look
Every night, I have a routine: watch TV and place the remote on my nightstand before heading to bed. One day, a few months back, the remote vanished from its usual place, a mystery which vexed me for months. Cut to some months later, as I replaced my old bed, I found the remote wedged snugly within the box spring in the bed frame.
It seemed impossible for it to just drop there, and I most definitely hadn't placed it there.
8. The Secret Garden
I used to practice Taekwondo for ten years, and we had annual summer picnics. Once when I was 12, a friend and I decided to explore a small path we noticed in the woods. We ventured deeper into the woods, crossing a few roads and laying markers to not lose direction. At one point, we came across a crumbling, ancient-looking building. We were intrigued and were confident about discovering a 'hidden' place of worship.
However, realizing that our parents would be worried, we returned to the pavilion to find my mom on her phone. We received quite a scolding but later when I told my mom about our adventurous find, she didn’t seem entirely dismissive. Many years later, in high school, a friend mentioned the same shrine behind the old governmental building which was very similar to the ruins we'd discovered as kids.
They led me to the spot - sure enough, it was the same place, but it seemed impossible because the shrine was located in a fenced-off area surrounded by a neighborhood, river and a government building, totally contrary to my childhood discovery. Skeptical, I verified via Google Maps, only to confirm their version. I still visit this place and it remains beautiful. Even though my childhood friend and I drifted apart, I sometimes wonder if I should reach out and share these revelations.
9. Dreamscape
Here's a mysterious tale about a shared dream. When my girlfriend and I first started dating, she had long hair, but we later broke up for a short period. By the time we got back together, she had cut her hair short. During our relationship, I had this dream about her, but in the dream, she still had her long hair.
The dream was peculiar because she behaved as though we weren't together—just like during our break. It was strange, but just a dream, right? Well, when I told her about it, she admitted that she had had the exact same dream two years before mine.
This was back when she still had long hair and we were not part of each other's lives. She found it unusual because in her dream, I acted like we were a couple. We both described the same people, place, and even the strange items in the rooms. It was a party at a house filled with a crowd, some mutual friends, unusual rooms, and a bunch of peculiar items. The detail of the dream was too similar to be a mere coincidence.
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10. Time Bandits
Here's an odd thing that happened in my family. My brother went on a trip, and due to time zones, things got twisted. My father dropped my brother off at the airport before heading to work. My brother was supposed to wait for his flight for an hour, followed by a four-hour flight. My dad received a call from my brother eight hours after he'd dropped him off.
From my dad’s perspective, my brother should have been at his destination for less than three hours. However, according to my brother, he had taken his flight, met his friends at the destination, had dinner, spent the night, done sightseeing the next day, and then called my father in the evening. He believed he'd been there for more than 24 hours.
The discrepancy led to a strange dispute, but both of them stuck to their narratives. They distinctly remember their experiences and even kept flight printouts for proof. To this day, I can't figure out how my dad lost a day or how my brother gained one. The mystery is unsettling.
11. All That Glitters Is Not Goldfish
When I was 10 years old, my pet goldfish disappeared without a trace. I suspected that my best friend's dog, who seemed too interested in the fishbowl, had eaten it. But when I shared this theory with my friend, he insisted, quite seriously, that I'd never owned a goldfish. His statement left me puzzled—why did I have an empty fishbowl then?
12. Going Missing
My mom and I once decided to spend the night in my room. To clarify the layout, the living room sits between my room and my mom's room, so the hallway links them. One evening, as my mom was working on her laptop in the hallway, she asked me to prepare the bed for us. I agreed but asked to use her laptop.
Confirming she'd left it on a hallway sofa, my mom started to head towards my room. As she approached, I met her at the door to fetch the laptop. Unexpectedly, she claimed that her laptop was already on my bed. She seemed as surprised as I was, given that she thought she left it in the hallway. The laptop's sudden appearance on my bed remains an unsolved mystery.
13. Not Seeing Eye To Eye
My buddy, let's call him K, had a girlfriend named D way back when. D was a great gal and they dated for a spell before calling it quits. Not long after, K started dating another girl, in this case, we'll call her M. Through most of high school they held on, sticking it out for a couple of years. I recall this one time, we were chilling at M's family home, her dad busted us having a sneaky drink, didn't make a fuss though.
Jump ahead four years, K and I were reflecting on old times and he drops the bomb that M's dad had unfortunately committed suicide. I was gobsmacked, he was such a jovial bloke. We had a chuckle recalling the good times, fondly remembering that time he found us fishing for a sneaky drink. But the story took a weird turn, six months on, and K insisted it was D's dad who had passed, not M's.
I was confused as it was clear in my mind. We had joked about the time we were caught drinking when he had broken the news about M's dad. K was genuinely puzzled; he wouldn't usually get such things mixed up. Anyway, it turns out M's dad is still alive and kicking. It sort of felt like we had hopped onto a slightly parallel universe somewhere along the way.
14. Double The Trouble
Just a few days back, K and I were rolling around the same town. I had swung across the state line for some cheaper gas, while K was coming back from a mall run. We reconvened at work that night when K starts blabbing that I was tearing the asphalt up, driving like a speed freak, and he couldn't keep up.
I called foul because I clearly remember seeing him zoom by as I was exiting the gas station. I couldn't understand how I could ever get ahead of him that quick. K insisted he saw me exiting a Dollar General store further ahead. I reckon K must've seen a similar car like mine, a Versa, with an out-of-state plate, driven by someone who just happened to look like me, all while messing with an iPod. Or maybe something glitched in our fabricated reality.
15. Wet And Wild
One afternoon, I strolled back to my dorm room from class and plopped down on my futon, engaging in some light banter with my roommate. She was barely keeping her eyes open, and while a conversation was ongoing, she suddenly went quiet, rummaging through her backpack. What she pulled out next almost required a double-take - a soaking wet planner book. Yet, everything else in her backpack was bone-dry, including the mysterious absence of a wet patch.
She hadn't hauled out that planner from her backpack in a week, nor had she been carrying any water bottles that might have spilled. The weather had been dry too, no rain at all for nearly a fortnight. I was left scratching my head, figuring maybe she was too fatigued to recall correctly, when I noticed something was seriously off.
As I got up from the futon, one part of my leg felt oddly cold and wet. However, nothing else around me was moist - not the rest of my clothes, not the surrounding area of the futon, not even any nearby objects. As sure as plums aren't peaches, my roommate and I were stumped, despite our best efforts to decipher the puzzle.
16. Pointing In The Right Direction
I don't know why but I have this super-clear memory from my childhood, of spotting a mouse pointer floating in the sky. I was probably around four or five, we were out on a family shopping spree. Reclining in the backseat of the car, I noticed it in the sky. It was confirmed as a shooting star by my dad, but no one seemed overly thrilled by the discovery.
For some reason, my brain registered it as a mouse pointer. Could be that the memory got twisted up in my mind over time, but who's to say really.
17. Into The Night
One evening in the mid-90s, my ex and I found ourselves enamored by the radiant full moon that hung in the sky. It was one of those typical Texas nights: warm and quiet, inviting us to take a scenic drive through the countryside. We didn't have to venture far from our little west Texas town before we found ourselves enveloped in serenity. As we got closer to a rest stop near another small town, we felt this whimsical atmosphere transform into something a little more ominous.
Despite our excitable mood just moments before, we both felt a sudden shift in the air; something wasn't quite right. There, in the rest stop, was a van parked a little further away from us. An uncanny intuition kept pulling my gaze towards it. It was as if we were being watched. I felt unease creeping into me, and my ex seemed to share the sentiment, her worry growing apparent.
Everything about our surroundings felt mysteriously wrong: the moonlight, the van, the brittle silence, the music playing softly in the distance, and this inexplicable feeling of intrusion as if we had gate-crashed an unwelcome scene. Unexpectedly, I started doubting if our car would even start; a scenario that would have been drastically dire as we were the only souls around, apart from whoever that van belonged to, in the dark of the night.
Remember, this was before mobile phones became commonplace. In the midst of this eerie standstill, to our relief, the car did start, and we hastily returned to the safety of our home. As we retreated, I stole one last glance at the van only to see a few silhouettes emerge, eerily observing our exit. That unforgettable night left us feeling like we dodged something potentially life-threatening.
18. The Missing Link
This next story is one that only my husband and I can vouch for. It revolves around an intriguing occurrence linked to trees in our neighborhood. You see, I have always had an affinity for trees, particularly the majestic oaks, elms and maples that graced our streets. One house, in particular, hosted two extraordinary magnolia trees that I adored; an unusual encounter in our area.
When one day both the trees were unsparingly chopped, my husband and I were jolted by the ruthless act. I could clearly recall the sight of the transitioning landscape: a host of fallen branches blanketing the bare stumps. I even retrieved a bud-bearing twig as a keepsake of my lost friend. Their absence stripped the house of its privacy; now one could view the adjacent yard unhindered, which wasn't possible before.
Come spring, to my disbelief, one of the magnolias stood tall as if nothing had happened. Sure, people suggested we had mistaken the felling of a single tree for both, but I vividly remembered our shared distress over the loss of "both" trees. While my husband succumbed to the explanation of a mere oversight on our part, I was left puzzled.
19. An Echo Of The Past
My next account will take you back to December 22, 1998. My aunt surprised my brother and me with a visit. With our divorced mother away at work, she proposed a cinema outing - an uncharacteristic treat that left us thrilled. Hours into the movie, my young mind drifted towards a disturbing thought: if I had to choose, which parent would I bear to lose first? I remember grappling with this distressing dilemma, but immediately dismissed it as an unlikely event for the distant future.
Upon our return, we found our mother home – an odd sight at this hour. Playfully, I suggested she might have been fired. But humor soon dissolved into heartbreak. She broke the shocking news of my father's sudden demise, a casualty of an armed attack.
His death was wrapped in uncanny coincidences. It occurred at 10:02 am, right around when my unsettling movie theater contemplation was taking place. My mother had come home early due to a sump pump failure; she learned of my father's death first from a breaking news report and later confirmed by a call from the hospital. The eeriest element of this story was my father's chilling foreboding years ago, during a fight with my mother, about his potential death at his job. This prophecy had ironically been marked in my mother's memory, as she was setting up Christmas decorations at the time.
20. I Think We’re Alone Now
Lastly, let me share an episode involving a visit to my friend's house. As I arrived, she was caught in the midst of her dressing routine, so I opted to wait outside. From their open window, I overheard an intense exchange between her Somalian mother and sister, characterized by emotional outbursts and stern responses, in a mix of English and Arabic.
Just as we drive away, I asked my friend about the tearful altercation, only for her to claim that no one was home except her. Her explanation lined up with her unreserved attire in front of me that wouldn't have been possible had her conservative family been home. This lingering mystery confounds me to this day.
A part of me can't help but link it to her sister's inclination towards mysticism, as she seemingly dabbles in some unconventional rituals. To what extent this might be connected, however, remains an unsolved puzzle.
21. Back To The Future
Let me tell you about this bizarre incident that happened to me in 2007. I received an unexpected phone call from an elementary school; a woman on the other end, seemingly a teacher, asked for me by name. She explained she was calling regarding a young student named Alex, who was not feeling well and had listed me as his emergency contact.
I was taken aback; I had no connection to this school or this child. I assured her she must have the wrong person, despite her having correctly identified my full name. I even highlighted that I didn’t recognize the child's surname. After a brief conversation, we ended the call. My friend and I later attempted to trace the number, but all our efforts were fruitless.
We couldn’t find any information; moreover, attempting to call back led to an automated response stating the number was out of order. This mystery still bothers me, even though it's been almost nine years—it just doesn't add up!
22. When The Saints Go Marching In
The year I was in seventh grade, Pokémon cards were all the rage. Never one to miss out on a trend, I, too, started collecting these cards. Even though I wasn’t interested in the game itself, I found joy in collecting, carefully storing the cards in a binder like treasured artifacts.
One day, as I was flipping through my collection, I noticed my holographic Machamp card was missing. Despite scouring my entire room, the card remained elusive. At that point, remembering a story my aunt had told me, I decided to seek divine intervention. She had once lost a diamond tennis bracelet, prayed to St. Anthony for its return, and found it resting on her pillow that night. I figured I had nothing to lose, so I offered up the same prayer she had: "Tony, Tony look around, I've lost something that can't be found".
After the prayer, I resumed tidying my room amidst the chaos of my search. While bending down to pick something up, I found the card peeking out from behind the dresser! It was inexplicable—I had thoroughly searched my room, including the dresser. How the card ended up there remains a mystery. Engaging St. Anthony’s help has proven successful during subsequent lost-item incidents as well, always leading me to the most unlikely hiding places.
So remember, when something turns up missing, a simple prayer to Tony might just do the trick!
23. The Sixth Sense
When I was in high school, my mother worked close to our home, and she’d drop and pick me up from school. One ominous morning, while riding to school with her, I felt an inexplicable disquiet about my grandma, my mom’s mother. I decided not to mention my feelings to my mom, not wanting to distress her needlessly.
The day passed uneventfully, and I practically forgot about my morning anxiety—until my mother came to pick me up. She looked visibly upset. When I inquired, she told me my grandmother had suffered a heart attack and was in the hospital. She was planning to travel to New Hampshire to be with her. Sadly, my grandmother passed away a week later.
24. Nine Lives And A Lot Of Mischiefs
As a child, I lived in an apartment complex along with my other family members. The place had a spooky vibe, but the majority of strange occurrences seemed to center around me. However, on one occasion, my siblings got to experience the weirdness firsthand.
My little sister and I were preparing to sleep in our older brother's room one night. As we were getting ready, we noticed our cat walk past a small lamp placed near the door, and suddenly, the bulb exploded. The noise startled my other brother, who was inside another room, and he rushed to check on us. After hearing our explanation about the cat and the lamp, he insisted we were mistaken because the cat was with him when the bulb burst.
25. Dream Girl
About a month ago, my girlfriend and I had an amusing morning experience. As we were waking up, she was recounting a peculiar dream she had. In it, Tom Cruise, still tied up in nuptial bonds with Katie Holmes, ironically was the cause of her nightmare. Neither of us are particularly fans of the celebrity pair, which tickled our funny bone.
In the dream, Katie shared a piece of trivia with my girlfriend - she was from Toledo, Ohio. Intrigued by the peculiar detail, we did an online lookup. As weird as it may seem, Katie indeed originates from Toledo, Ohio!
26. The Long Walk
A rather odd event transpired quite recently. I was in the rear middle seat of a car, with my mom and her friend driving us back from dinner. It was nightfall and our car stood at a traffic light that just turned green. I was passively watching the cars ahead when a man standing on the roadside caught my eye.
He walked into our lane and suddenly vanished into thin air! We drove past the exact spot, but there was no trace of anyone. His peculiar attire, a forest green sweater and brown beanie, was etched into my memory. The uncanny experience baffles me to this day.
27. The Gravity Of The Situation
One day, I was rummaging in the fridge when my dad asked, "Did something just fall?" I was stumped as I didn't hear anything. As I was trying to make sense of his question, a date seed shot off from the kitchen counter and landed right in front of me.
As bystander to this bizarre series of events, I saw the date pit launch itself from the counter and land at my feet. The way my dad predicted the fall moments before it happened leaves me puzzled till today.
28. Now You See Me
In August, I was tidying my basement room when I spotted something fluffy crawling from under my bed. On a closer look, I realised it was a spider. I decided to trap it in a jar to gently release it outside.
Scouting around for a suitable jar, I found a glass bottle. But the bottle was filled with water. Not wanting to harm the spider, I kept looking and found an empty candle holder jar.
I laid the jar over the spider, slipped a thin piece of paper beneath it and carried the spider-jar combo out. Mid-way, it slipped from the paper onto my leg. Thankfully, I managed to trap it again and sought a thicker paper this time, always ensured the spider was safe and sound.
I tiptoed to the front door, cautiously holding the jar, and opened it slightly with my foot. But when I finally lifted the jar outside, the spider had inexplicably vanished. I checked my clothes and surroundings frantically, but the spider was nowhere. Where it disappeared remains an unsolved mystery.
29. Something In The Air
At the age of 13, I was playing a baseball game and had the sudden sensation of impending doom. I felt an urgency to check on my loved ones, a feeling that was difficult to shake. Thank the Lord I listened to my gut.
The next day, a close friend of my sister came to our house, looking visibly upset. He revealed that his best friend from Alaska had gotten drunk at a party, wandered into the wilderness, and didn't make it out. He was discovered the next day, partially consumed by a bear. After hearing this, my anxious feeling from the previous day vanished, replaced with a sense of relief. It remains one of the most inexplicable experiences of my life.
30. Guardian Angel
One day, after a particularly heavy night of drinking, I found myself walking on the street with my headphones blocking the outside world. Unintentionally, I strolled across the street without checking for traffic. Suddenly, I felt a shove on my backpack that sent me tumbling over.
A kind woman passing by helped me up and informed me that if I hadn't stumbled right then, I would've been hit by a passing bus. However, it was a push, not a stumble, that had saved my life.
31. Disappearing Act
In high school, there was a tiny, dark room situated at the back of the school's stage. You could only lock it from the outside and it gave us all goosebumps. As mischievous kids, we decided to lock one of our buddies inside as a joke.
At first, his frantic screams and pounding on the door amused us, but soon the fun turned into fear as his cries became intertwined with the pounding. Then, there was sudden silence. We called out to him, but he didn't respond. Some of us mustered up the courage and opened the door; he was nowhere to be found inside. We were left in disbelief until we saw him through a window, approaching from outside. He was certain we had let him out, but we knew for a fact he couldn't have left past us. That incident continues to baffle us till this day.
32. Life Is Short
My grandfather always portrayed himself as a stoic, emotionless man, a resolve that was strengthened after my grandmother's death. However, one Thanksgiving night, his personality completely shifted.
He started actively engaging in conversation, hugging family members, indulging in emotions, and expressing his pride for his family – behavior that was starkly different from his usual self. Tragically, the same night saw an intruder break into his house, shooting him fatally during a confrontation over a jewelry box.
After his demise when we had to clear his house, we opened that jewelry box to find my grandparent's wedding rings inside. This shook us to our core, particularly since my grandfather had lost his wedding ring a decade ago.
33. In The Dog House
This is one wildly unbelievable story. So, there I was, just chilling at home with my dogs who were also in the house with me. They were giving me these pitiful whines indicating that they longed to play in the backyard. But at the time, my computer game was way too captivating to step away from, so I chose to stay put. The hounds got fed up and wandered out of my room. But a couple of minutes later, there was this loud clattering sound.
Investigation led me to the noise source with all looking normal, except for the conspicuous absence of the dogs. I turned the house upside down during my search for them. Guess where I found them? In the backyard. But here's the mind-bending part: my place doesn't have a doggy door. To make it even more curious, the backdoor is always locked. You might think that it wasn't bolted properly and they managed to slip outside. But if that was the case, who or what shut and locked the door afterwards?
Locking that door demands having a key, given the lock is a deadbolt rather than a regular doorknob. Mind-boggling, right?
34. It Cuts Like A Knife
Let's rewind to when I was about 12. This one pertains to a peculiar strand of spider web that I noticed once outside. As it floated across under the sun's light, it seemed harmless. But the strangest thing occurred when it reached me - it left a three-inch cut on my cheek. Not too serious, but certainly strange, considering it left no evidence. Still can't wrap my head around that one.
35. Mirror, Mirror
Fast forward a couple of years to when I was every bit of 10 years old. I was home alone in the living room and happened to glance down the hallway, only to spot myself standing there. I know this sounds nuts, but the other me slowly moved toward my bedroom until he was out of sight. Naturally, I followed. By the time I arrived at my room, he was already in my closet.
I had this strong urge to join him there. So, I went into a now empty closet and began to retrace his steps. In retrospect, I realized we both had this similar puzzled look. Of course, I kept this strange event to myself because I was worried about being seen as bonkers.
36. Book It Out Of Here
Now, this is the most recent and downright weirdest thing to happen to me yet, and I don't usually share this with anyone since it's so baffling. To give a brief intro about myself: I'm a bookbinder. My work involves transforming paperback books into aesthetic leather-bound hardbacks. I had a project with an approaching deadline - the 13th of April.
Due to the somewhat tedious nature of my work, I'd swept it aside for more intriguing endeavors. However, one part of the process, creating the cover, left me feeling uninspired, so I avoided it further by indulging in some video gaming, chatting online with a buddy, before eventually calling it a night.
When I came in the next day, my jaw dropped: I discovered a pile of beautifully completed, leather-bound books on my workbench. The covers were perfectly crafted, embellished with metal pieces and seamlessly glued. Alarm bells were ringing inside my head, as I tried to recall any memories of having worked on them, but none came to mind. My next guess? Perhaps I was sleepwalking and managed to book-bind unknowingly.
However, my gaming log confirmed several hours were spent gaming. Facebook showed I'd been chatting with Brandon before hitting the hay. My Fitbit data suggested I hadn't walked more than 200 steps since midnight, a steep contrast to the endless moving around it typically tracks on working days. When I use my laser cutter, it always leaves behind scrap material and a unique charred smell. But there weren't any leftover pieces or the distinctive odor that day. Not a single brush looked used, and even my glue level was just as I remembered it.
Even assuming I was bookbinding in my sleep, the missing Fitbit steps and the absence of leftover materials left me dumbfounded. So, frankly, I have no idea what on earth happened. All I can say is, it's been quite a head-scratcher!
37. In Two Places At Once
I vividly remember sitting in a lecture once, finding myself a little bored and people-watching. In particular, there was this distinctively big guy sporting a ponytail and elongated chin beard a few rows in front of me. I scanned from him to the room’s entrance, and to my surprise, there he was again, entering through the same door. I was taken aback by this uncanny scene.
I was left questioning if I had some sort of blackout for a brief moment or this guy had somehow achieved superhuman speed and exited and re-entered the lecture hall swiftly. Fun fact, the lecture was about vision and optical illusions. Had I been more attentive, I would perhaps understand what just happened.
38. Trembling With Fear
A vivid memory dates back to March 11, 2011. My mom was giving me a ride to school. We had relocated within Tokyo a year prior, and it dawned on me that we didn't have an earthquake meetup plan for our family. Naturally, I brought up the topic, and hence, our entire car ride revolved around us deciding a convenient rendezvous location in case of an earthquake. We settled on the nearby park setting. Later that day, at 2:46 PM, the infamous Tohoku Earthquake hit us.
The earthquake occurred during our final school period. Coincidentally, we were hosting a speaker who dealt with disaster refugees. The topic under discussion? Emergency pack necessities during disaster crises. The entire day’s events were straight out of a movie, eerily ominous from the start to the end. One detail that I can't leave out is the precarious positioning of my sister's gift to my mother, a full crystal vase, balanced on the edge of a table in the foyer.
Naturally, we expected it to be a casualty of the earthquake. But astonishingly, it was as we left it, maybe moved a centimeter or so, but it stood firm on the edge without falling over.
39. What We Do In The Shadows
As a child, I lived in a trailer where the bathroom was adjacent to the master bedroom. One particular day, I was walking out when something caught my eye: a shadow on the wall. My initial assumption was my own shadow, but I was taken aback when I noticed that its arms were raised high as though about to seize something, while mine were down — an eerie sight that was hard to digest.
Upon peering into the room to assure myself that no one else was there, my uneasiness escalated when I saw the shadow continue its movement across the wall. Much to my panic, I turned into a sprinter in seconds.
40. Under Lock And Key
On another occasion, I returned from school with a couple of pals to chill in my room. I laid my keys down on my headboard — a convenient built-in bookshelf. Immediately after placing them down, I spun around, bizarrely retrieved the very same keys from my computer desk, and back to the headboard they went. This strange sequence of events was picked up by my friends instantly, whereas I remained oblivious.
41. For Whom The Bell Tolls
Back in high school, I had a knack for stumbling upon strange and inexplicable occurrences. I remember one particular morning, I had dozed off during my second-period class. The teacher wasn't especially strict, so she didn't mind. Then the bell rang, signaling the end of class. Without missing a beat, I scooped up my belongings and exited quickly, heading towards my girlfriend.
We exchanged brief greetings and, with time pressing on, I quickly dashed off to my next class before the third-period bell rang. When I walked into what I believed was my third-period class, the teacher looked at me, puzzled, stating that class hadn't started yet. I turned to the clock and noticed that it was in fact still second period. only then did it occur to me how odd that scenario had been.
42. Problem Solved
I remember spending time perfecting my riffle shuffle. I was fascinated by the technique where you can split the deck into two sections and reshuffle them into a perfect sequence. This became my obsession, and I spent countless hours refining this skill.
One day, I took a brand new deck, split it into two halves and riffle shuffled it approximately eight times. When I ran my thumb up the deck, the cards were back in their original order. I knew the probability of this happening was astronomically low. It perplexed me for years until I realized the trick: if you riffle shuffle too methodically, maintaining the perfect halves, you can reset the order within eight moves. So, it's like a ballroom dance; if the steps are predictable, everyone reverting to their original partner is foreseeable.
43. Lost And Found
My mom worked as a babysitter when she was younger. Occasionally, items would mysteriously vanish, causing a frantic search. Strangely, after 30 minutes, the missing item would be found in the basement covered in a thick layer of dust, as if untouched for years even though it had just recently disappeared.
44. The More Things Change
As a painter by profession, I had a painting board from college, which I had kept with me for years due to its good quality. Its downside was its awkwardness to handle. I don't recall where I got it, but the peculiar feature that stood out was its thickness, around an inch and very heavy.
Moreover, one edge was cut at a 45-degree angle, not the typical 90-degree cut you would expect. The unusual cut posed challenges especially when framing my artwork, because the unconventional cut made it difficult to pin into the frame. I remember the weird shape because I had handled it quite a few times.
However, one day I went to use the board, only to discover the angle had suddenly transformed into an ordinary 90-degree cut. It was unbelievably ordinary now. I felt like I'd lost my mind, but even my roommate brushed it off suggesting that I had remembered wrong. Yet, I am sure of what I witnessed because I remember the numerous occasions when I found the board awkward to handle. It's like finding a dish you use constantly is now oval instead of round but no one believing you when you point it out. They simply dismiss it, calling you crazy. But I KNOW this board was shaped differently before.
45. It’s Not In Your Head
During my stint as a cashier at a store in Brooklyn, I encountered an eerily odd sight. One chilly day in January, a pair of elderly ladies walked into the store. Straight off the bat, something felt off about them. They appeared to be in their 70s and looked identical, like twins. What heightened the peculiarity, though, was their synchronized movement and attire. Both were clad in vivid green jackets, smart black hats, matching black trousers, and identical shoes.
Throughout their time in the store, they moved side by side, their actions echoed in perfect harmony. It was disconcerting, and I couldn't help but feel disturbed. When they finally left, after making their purchases, I could still picture the 'glitchy' tableau they presented. My boss later informed me that they were twins who lived nearby, and suggested they probably dressed and acted this way just to amuse themselves by unsettling others.
46. In Search Of Lost Time
Several years ago, while in high school, I dated a girl from a different school. I wound up escorting her to her prom because, truth be told, my own school's prom didn't interest me. It was a typical prom night, full of teenage fun and frolic. Afterward, I dropped her home around 3 am.
Her place was a good 45-minute drive away, assuming traffic was light. After ensuring she was safely inside, I set the Tom-Tom on home and started my drive back. She checked in on me just a few minutes later, to make sure I was on track. The next thing I remember, I was already turning into my driveway.
The weirdest part was the time lapse. I should have arrived home around 3:45 am. Instead, I was home within 10 minutes of her call, which I definitely didn't anticipate, especially seeing as I wasn't in my own car but my mother's. Knowing I couldn't possibly have covered a 55-mile stretch in 10 minutes, even if I was speeding, which was unlikely in a borrowed 2009 Hyundai Elantra, left me completely baffled.
47. Thoughts And Prayers
When my kids were just three and five years old, we went on a road trip. As a woman of faith, I led us in prayer for our safety before hitting the road. We had barely covered a few miles when the car began to jerk as if someone was continually pulling the handbrake. We were all startled and clueless as to what was happening.
The jerking stopped, only to restart again. Feeling uneasy, I decided to pull off at the next exit, especially since we were just setting out for a long journey. The first establishment I saw was a mechanic's shop, so I stopped to have the car checked out. But futile it was, as after taking a short test drive, the mechanic found no fault with the car.
Feeling reassured, but still a bit confused, I got back on the highway. The traffic seemed to have worsened during my pit stop. A few miles up, I saw 2 x 4s scattered all over the road. To my realization, they had fallen off a truck that was previously in front of us before I exited the highway.
48. Music To My Ears
A haunting dream once tingled my senses to a bizarre coincidence. In the dream, I was hit by a freight train on tracks in the middle of my town. As I lay injured, succumbing to the injuries, I was comforted by my girlfriend, while the song "Where Oh Where Can My Baby Be" played in the background.
Not long after I woke up, my girlfriend called and invited me to a local food festival that happened annually in town. I recounted my dream, highlighting the macabre intensity of it and the peculiar song playing. After sharing a puzzled laugh about the intense dream, I got ready to join them at the festival.
As we maneuvered through the festival, the notes of the same eerie song that had played in my dream floated in the air. A band, under one of the music tents, was playing it! This freaky coincidence sent chills down my spine, and we both shared a chuckle at the strange twist of fate. Out of the blue, we heard the unmistakeable dinging of a railroad crossing! As it turned out, the food festival straddled a train track and the train crossed right through it.
This freak coincidence, of the train cutting through the festival while the song from my dream was being played, left us in awe. To this day, long after we've broken up, we both revisit memories of that day and marvel at the eerie synchronicity.
49. Never The Right Time
While living in Denver, I once had a friend come by for a visit. Denver National Airport, where her flight was due to land, was a little over half an hour's drive from where I stayed. Her arrival was expected at about 11:15 in the night, and promptly at 10:30 p.m., I found a text from her saying she'd already landed and wondering if I was at the airport. Wondering if her flight had come in early, we hurried to get to the airport, as I attempted to reach her over the phone but to no avail, it would just go to voice mail.
On thinking her phone might have run out of juice or something, I continued checking the flight's status online en route. Surprisingly, the information kept showing the flight still on its way. Reaching the airport before the scheduled arrival time, I found no sight of my friend, nor any fresh update about the flight. Circling the airport and waiting found us with no lead until a chiller text dropped in.
Exactly at about 11:15 in the night, I received the same text: "I just landed. Are you here?" Right away, I called her up and asked if she'd texted me while in the flight. She refused, emphasizing that her phone was switched off all this while. When she landed and we met, I wanted to check both our text threads on our phones.
In my inbox, I found those same texts from her, one at 10:30 p.m. and another at 11:15 p.m. On her phone, the conversation showed only the 11:15 p.m. text. She asserted that she hadn't typed in the message before switching off the phone. This strange happening ate up an extra 15 minutes of mine circling around the airport.
50. The Waiting Game
For a Christmas break, I decided to visit my mom. It was the eve of Christmas Eve, the 23rd of December. The preceding few hours I spent catching up with my mom about my recent happenings at the university, followed by a draining 2-hour bus ride, had left me worn out. Late at night, while my mom and stepdad were sleeping on the couches in the living room, I found myself on the love seat, switching between TV channels.
Somewhere around midnight and 1 o'clock in the morning, even though I wanted to hit the bed and sleep off the fatigue of the day, I rather continued channel surfing. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but I had a strange feeling that there was something that needed be done before I could turn in for the night.
After a while, I started to become frustrated with myself, why won't I just go to bed? What am I waiting for? Out of nowhere, a loud snap rang out from near the TV. On getting up, I found, to my shock, that the cord of the little space heater in the living room had caught fire.
This heater was an old one, its cord had once been amended by my stepfather with pieces of an electrical tape after it had broken. Seeing the fire, I alerted my sleeping parent by shouting "FIRE" at the top of my lungs. Although my stepfather was quick to react and unplugged the heater, I had managed to unlock the cord and rushed outside with the heater.
Once I had the situation under control and the fire was out, I left the heater on the concrete front porch and walked back inside, heart pounding with adrenaline. Few moments later, fatigue overwhelmed me again and wanted nothing more than to fall asleep. With the prior feeling of anticipation gone, I quickly dozed off.
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