10x16: Weird As a Box of Hair - Let's Not Meet

[00:00:00] This podcast contains adult language and content. If you have a story to share, send it to letsnotmeetstories at gmail.com. Enjoy the show. My name is Andrew Tate and this is Season 10, Episode 16 of Lets Not Meet, A True Horror Podcast. Let's get started.

[00:00:52] All throughout high school, I had a boyfriend. I grew up in an insanely small town where everybody knew each other. That being said, dating wasn't too challenging because everyone knew who to steer clear of.

[00:01:08] When I moved away from my home to go to college, I ended up in a pretty large town. Being freshly single, I wanted to experience the dating world. I downloaded Tinder and started swiping.

[00:01:20] I met a lot of really awesome people, went on some fun dates, and made great connections. I had heard horror stories about crazy stalkers, violent encounters, and creepy interactions that other women had experienced while online dating.

[00:01:37] But the possibility of having something happen to me never even crossed my mind. I guess I was having a streak of good luck. That is, until I started chatting with a man named Ray. When I swiped on Ray, I thought that he was cute.

[00:01:55] He was tall and tan with dark hair. He was an average, good-looking guy. We quickly matched and started talking. Only after exchanging about five messages with him, I realized he was quite obsessive. He became very attached right away.

[00:02:12] Whenever I had the chance to respond, it never seemed like it was quick enough for him. He made assumptions that I hated him and even accused me of having him last on my list. Red flags were waving left and right.

[00:02:26] Unfortunately, I had already given him my phone number so that we could text, and things proceeded to worsen once he had my phone number. I was receiving messages day and night from him. He was constantly asking me to meet him.

[00:02:41] I let him know multiple times that I didn't feel comfortable going on a one-on-one date with him. He continued asking me, but I always declined. After months of incessant texting, I finally stopped responding and deleted his contact.

[00:02:57] With all of the messages finally put to a stop, I went on with my daily life, work, school, and other dates. Eventually I forgot about Ray. Until one day after work, I got a call from a number that I didn't know.

[00:03:12] I answered it, thinking that it could be an important call from somebody that I knew. I always pick up because if it's spam, I can just hang up, you know? As soon as I said hello, a man's voice excitedly said, Hey, I'm so happy you answered.

[00:03:29] I hesitated, trying to rack my brain and think of who this could be. Of course, I responded. Can I ask who this is? The man still excited replied, Oh, you don't have my number saved? It's Ray from Tinder. My heart sank. I was instantly anxious.

[00:03:49] I didn't even react before he continued. I'm calling to ask you out. My work rented an amusement park. I'm carpooling with a group of coworkers and everyone is bringing a plus one. I want you to come with me. Oh, you know what? I don't think I can.

[00:04:05] I'm really sorry. I declined. Oh, come on. We'll be with so many people. We'll just be having fun riding rides all day. Ray insisted. So we won't be alone at all? I asked. No, we'll be with my coworkers and other friends from start to finish. He confirmed. Please.

[00:04:24] I'll pick you up at five. I'm not good with being put on the spot, so I reluctantly agreed. I have no idea how to turn someone down over the phone. I ended the call by telling him where to pick me up and I started getting ready.

[00:04:40] He arrived at five to pick me up. I grabbed my things and walked downstairs to the lobby of the apartment building. We won't be alone. We'll be at a fun amusement park. It's only one little date, I reaffirmed to myself in my head.

[00:04:56] I walked outside looking for Ray with his group of people, but I saw no one. I stood there for a bit waiting to see a car door open. When one finally did, a tall, dark haired man got out and ran over to me. Hey, you. Are you ready?

[00:05:12] You look so cute in person. Even better than on Tinder. Ray greeted me as he wrapped me in a hug. Hey, um, thanks. Where are your coworkers and friends that we're carpooling with? I inquired.

[00:05:27] Oh, they wanted to go a little earlier, so it's just you and I driving to the amusement park. They're going to meet us there. I should have turned around right then and there.

[00:05:39] I should have walked back into my building, up the stairs, and back to my apartment, but I didn't. I got into his car and we started driving. The ride there was awful to say the least. There were traffic jams left and right due to it being rush hour.

[00:05:55] Ray intentionally accelerated, then slammed on his brakes to have a reason to reach his arm over to my side and pretend to protect me. As we were driving, he continued to go on and on about how beautiful he thought that I was.

[00:06:09] I changed the topic and found out that he was in the Navy. I thanked him for his service and told him how cool I thought that was. Then he told me he was also in the Army. He said that he had been honorably discharged for a while.

[00:06:25] I'm nosy, so I asked him why he was discharged, assuming he was injured or had a family emergency come up. We were sitting in traffic at a dead stop, but he turned away from me and looked at the freeway ahead, then calmly explained.

[00:06:42] I had vivid thoughts and dreams about how I was going to murder my bunkmates. I confessed this to my sergeant and I was removed from the bunks. They ended up running some psychological tests on me and it turns out I'm schizophrenic.

[00:06:59] I looked at his profile as he continued to look at the traffic jam. I was waiting for him to elaborate, maybe say that he was just joking, but neither ever happened. It was silent for the rest of the drive.

[00:07:15] When we got to the amusement park, I jumped out of the car as soon as he parked. I even said, thank you Jesus, as I was getting out. He looked at me and I continued, the drive was so long. I'm excited to meet your coworkers and friends.

[00:07:31] What are you talking about? He asked. I thought you said that your company rented the park out for the night, aren't your work friends going to be here? I asked. I never said that. You must be mixing me up with somebody else.

[00:07:47] He said this as he started to walk towards the ticket booth. My head was spinning. I was three hours away from my apartment, my friends, everything. I decided as long as we were at the crowded amusement park, I would be okay, right?

[00:08:04] With so many others around, I wasn't really alone with this guy. We went on one ride that required us to sit uncomfortably close to one another. Then the rest of the time he wanted to play games to try and win prizes.

[00:08:18] After walking around for a while, I messaged a friend to let them know where I was. Then I said, I'm ready to go home. I'm not feeling well. My friend is coming to get me. He immediately insisted, tell her to turn around. I'm taking you home.

[00:08:33] What kind of guy would I be if I didn't drive my date home? He was persistent so I agreed. The ride back consisted of him swerving into other lanes due to him dancing to his loud obnoxious music while driving.

[00:08:48] He was totally oblivious to the fact that I was uncomfortable. Hey, are you hungry? He yelled this as he turned the music down. No, I want to go home now, I replied sternly. Okay, I'll take you. He agreed as he turned the volume back up.

[00:09:05] It was an all new level of loud. He continued driving before exiting way before my apartment. I turned down the music and said, this isn't my exit. Where are you going? My friend's waiting for me. I'm just grabbing some food. I'll be quick.

[00:09:21] He said as he pulled into an in and out. Then he got out of his car, slammed the door, and locked me inside. He literally just left me in the car. What the hell? I was nearly in tears so I called my friend.

[00:09:37] I didn't even know what town I was in. I shared my location with her so that she could start tracking the car. As soon as I did that, Ray came back to the car, got in, and we got back onto the freeway towards my apartment.

[00:09:51] By the time we pulled into my complex, my whole body felt like jello. I'm so close to being inside, the safety of my apartment, I thought to myself. When he parked, I did the same as I did when we arrived at the amusement park. I jumped out.

[00:10:08] I headed towards my door waving at him from behind, hoping he wasn't getting out of his car. He got out. He then rushed towards me and grabbed my hand. He started to walk with me as if we were a couple.

[00:10:21] I stopped him at the complex door and told him that he couldn't get in without a key fob. Then, I told him I'd walk myself the rest of the way and thanked him for driving me. Then Ray grabbed my face and tried to kiss me.

[00:10:36] The only thought going through my mind was, this guy is delusional. I shook my hand free as he was still holding it, pulled away, and said, I'm not kissing you, I don't even know who you are.

[00:10:48] I unlocked the door, opened it barely wide enough for me and I shut it behind me. I then darted up the stairs to my apartment. When I was back in my apartment, I stood there in disbelief. Did that really just happen? Why did he lie so much?

[00:11:05] Did he really have to go to In-N-Out before dropping me off? All of these questions that I didn't really want answers for anymore. I was just happy to be away from him. Just before I went to block his number, I received a cluster of messages.

[00:11:22] He sent these one right after another. I really enjoyed our date. You're amazing. I love your body. I wish you would have let me kiss you. I think we're something really special. I didn't respond as these flooded in and I quickly blocked his number.

[00:11:40] I was worried that he would show up at my apartment when he realized I was ghosting him, but he never did. Luckily, he left me alone after that. I hope and pray that the next girl he meets on Tinder or elsewhere doesn't have a date like I did.

[00:11:56] To that pathological liar that I deeply regret swiping right on, let's not meet again. Long time ago, I was in a very dysfunctional relationship with a person a lot younger than me. Let's call them Jack. Jack was smart and funny but socially awkward.

[00:12:26] I found it to be endearing at first. Eventually I realized he was very insecure and immature. Overall, he wasn't good for me. He would jokingly accuse me of cheating on him and call me derogatory names even though I told him I didn't think that these jokes were funny.

[00:12:47] He would also show up at my house uninvited in the middle of the night. When he did this, he would expect me to get up and entertain him. After several incidents like this, I finally got sick of it and I ended the on-again-off-again relationship for good.

[00:13:04] He seemed to let it go so I thought that it was over. I thought wrong. A couple of years later, my phone rang one night around 2am. It was Jack. Immediately I thought, ugh, why?

[00:13:20] What could he possibly need from me at this hour and after all this time has passed? In my sleep-fogged state, I decided my best course of action would be to attempt to tune it out and try to go back to sleep. I wasn't shocked when he persisted.

[00:13:36] He kept calling and sending texts. After so many attempts, he left me a voicemail saying, I'm here. Answer your door. That got my attention. I was wide awake at that point. Ticked off at the interruption of what had been a very peaceful sleep, I finally answered.

[00:13:55] No, I have work in a few hours. I don't have anything to say to you. We've been over for a long time. Please go away. Then I put the phone down, rolled back over and attempted to at least relax.

[00:14:09] I was hoping that he'd just drive home and let the whole thing go. That didn't happen. It wasn't long before I heard him moving around outside my bedroom window. I lay there perfectly still, my heart pounding with anger. And maybe a touch of fear.

[00:14:27] I listened to him moving around outside of my house. He knocked on my bedroom window for a minute or two before moving back to the front door. He started to pound on the front door so hard that my dogs were now barking and raising hell.

[00:14:42] I should mention that I'm a single woman living alone in a rather impoverished and somewhat less than reputable neighborhood. I generally have a habit of locking both my safety door and my inner door. Apparently I had forgotten to lock both that evening.

[00:14:59] Jack tried the door and finding it unlocked, walked right in like he owned the place. My dogs met him at the door and not with their usual friendly wagging tails. Rather than risk getting bitten, he made a hasty exit and got back into his truck.

[00:15:16] I thought, cool, maybe now he'll go home and leave me alone. Wrong again. He started to honk his horn and text me to come outside. I told him no, again, and I asked him to leave, again.

[00:15:31] I called the police and told them that he walked into my house uninvited and I told them that I asked him to leave but he was outside disturbing the peace, honking his horn.

[00:15:40] I neglected to tell Jack that I had called the police because I wanted them to catch him. He sat there for several minutes, continuing to be obnoxious and honk. Then he saw a patrol car pulling up behind him.

[00:15:53] He tried to leave but he was pulled over up the street. A second cruiser pulled up in front of my house and the police officer came to talk to me. I told him what happened and offered to show him the messages that I was getting from Jack.

[00:16:08] The officer said that he didn't even need to see them and he went to speak with Jack while the other officers had him pulled over. About ten minutes later, the officer returned and told me that Jack said I invited him over to pick up some of his things.

[00:16:22] I said that I didn't have any of his things and I let the officer know again that I never invited him. I hadn't even spoken to him in at least two years. The officer asked if I wanted to press charges for burglary.

[00:16:37] Jack didn't take anything so I wasn't sure if I should. The officer said that the charge would be more about breaking and entering than taking anything. I decided I didn't want to press charges and I said I just wanted him to leave. The officer said, alright ma'am.

[00:16:56] I've just got to say that guy is about as weird as a box of hair. It was just the thing that I needed to hear to break the tension. I laughed and agreed with him.

[00:17:08] The officers let Jack go and shortly after, I received a barrage of texts from him. He was calling me all sorts of names and insulting my children. He said the police wouldn't have arrested him since it was my word against his.

[00:17:24] I didn't bother to dignify his verbal rampage with any sort of response. I blocked him and I haven't heard from him since. Color me grateful. I'm not sure why I didn't block him before that night, but better late than never, right?

[00:17:39] I'll wrap up this story by saying I've since gotten a great deal of therapy and I'm now in a very happy and healthy relationship. I don't know what ever happened to Jack, but I hope he's gotten some help and is finally happy.

[00:17:53] I wish him the best, but I hope he's somewhere far, far away from me. If we never meet again, it'll be too soon. I've been listening to your podcast for the last six months after my sister introduced me to it.

[00:18:24] We're both fans of the podcast and all kinds of other true crime. After listening, I've done some reflection on the close calls that I've had. Reminiscing took me back to when I lived and worked outside of Sydney, Australia in the Blue Mountains.

[00:18:39] To get to Sydney from where I was living, I either had to drive three hours or catch a train, which took about the same time. The Blue Mountains are quite spread out, so each train stop could take anywhere from 15 minutes to over half an hour.

[00:18:56] I had just flown back from Brisbane. I landed pretty late and planned on taking the train. This meant I would be on a train around 1030 at night. Most people know that it isn't the safest to catch trains this late since there can be

[00:19:11] a lot of strange people around. The train wouldn't get into the place I needed to be until about 1230 AM. I can't remember exactly what time I ended up getting there, but it was certainly past 12 AM. I got onto the train and took a seat.

[00:19:27] I was traveling with a large suitcase. The train had an upstairs and downstairs, so carrying a large heavy suitcase wasn't the easiest. The train ride started off normal, and I felt safe. But then, at the first stop, this strange-looking man hopped on the train.

[00:19:46] He sat one row ahead of me on the opposite side of the aisle. He was wearing really strange clothing that looked like he hadn't changed out of in weeks. He had a bag with him that had locks all over it. I'm not talking about one or two locks.

[00:20:02] There were about 15 locks on this bag. As he noticed me, he tried to make small talk. I was polite, as I always am. He was asking me personal questions. He asked if I had a boyfriend, where I lived, and what my name was.

[00:20:19] There was only one other passenger in our carriage. He was a few seats away, wearing headphones. The strange guy was convinced that we had met before. I politely told him, I don't think so. He kept insisting that we had, while grinning at me.

[00:20:37] The grin he gave me didn't feel good, though. It didn't feel safe. I really wanted to move on to a different carriage. It was really tough maneuvering around the train with my heavy suitcase, and I was worried that he would be infuriated if I moved, so I stayed.

[00:20:54] He kept trying to talk to me, but I didn't want to continue the conversation, so I said, I'm going to try and get some rest now. Then I turned my head to the window and tried to close my eyes.

[00:21:06] Not that there was any way I could actually sleep at this point. After about ten minutes, I slowly opened my eyes and I saw his reflection in the window. He was staring directly at me. This sent shivers down my spine.

[00:21:21] I also noticed that the other male passenger was gone. I panicked. It was late at night, and I was alone in this carriage with this man. I was praying that he would get off at the next stop, or at least not at the same stop as me.

[00:21:39] Finally, after some time we arrived at my stop. I noticed he was getting off the train as well. In order to get to my car, I had to walk through a tunnel, so of course I started thinking of all of the worst case scenarios.

[00:21:54] I even started thinking, this is it. Then he reached out and grabbed my arm. I lifted my heavy suitcase up as much as I could so I could run. Another man was standing on the train platform and noticed I was in distress.

[00:22:11] He asked me if I was okay and I told him the situation, and then he walked me to my car. To the man that helped me, I don't know what I would have done without you. And to the strange man on the train, let's not meet again.

[00:22:24] Hey friends, my name is Joel, and I'm the host of the Let's Read podcast, home to some of the most terrifying tales known to man. Now the stories I read are a mix of petrifying personal accounts, chilling true crime documentaries,

[00:23:00] and scary stories submitted by listeners just like you. Meaning you could share your own frightening experiences with my hundreds of thousands of loyal subscribers. So if you're a fan of horror or true crime, be sure to check out the Let's Read podcast, available wherever you're listening right now.

[00:23:26] This story occurred in October 2017. I was living in a beach town in Northern California and commuting to Silicon Valley for school and work. I worked at my college bookstore and the local boardwalk. There's a commuter bus program that has a bus going between both cities to minimize

[00:23:46] the number of drivers on the road. This came in handy since my commute was on a dangerous two-lane mountain highway with high cliff sides and deep forests all around. People drive like maniacs and it's raining all the time. Sadly, there are tons of accidents on that road.

[00:24:05] When that happens, traffic usually stops for at least an hour so that the roads can be cleared. I was in a fraternity at the time and we had to wear suits for meetings and events. On this night in particular, I boarded the bus wearing my suit.

[00:24:22] Seeing somebody wearing a suit on the bus wasn't an uncommon thing to see because so many different people used the bus to commute. I usually ride this bus with a friend, coworker, or even my boss from the bookstore but this was the last bus of the night.

[00:24:38] None of my usual friends were on it. In the Bay Area, most are nice people and just smile or chat. But this was not one of those times. The bus was fairly full that night and I was figuring out how I would get home.

[00:24:53] I usually took another bus that drove to my street but that route ended at 9. My only option was to walk a mile from the bus stop to my apartment. I didn't even think about asking my wife, who was my girlfriend at the time, to pick me up.

[00:25:10] Hindsight 20-20. This situation could have been avoided if I would have asked her. There was a massive traffic buildup due to a multi-car accident. I peered out of the window to take a look at traffic.

[00:25:24] I looked next to the seat next to me and then I saw him. There was a man with deep-set eyes and rotting teeth. He wore a tattered black hoodie and dickies. He clenched a ratty Jansport backpack in his laptop.

[00:25:40] His face and hands were caked with dirt and scabs. His head was shaved and he had a tattoo of a crucifix. He just stared at me as if he were looking into my soul and started mumbling under his breath.

[00:25:55] I ignored him but he moved closer to the edge of his seat. Then he turned and loudly whispered to a friend sitting in front of him, Hey, wanna drink? Fuck it, why not? His friend sitting across the aisle answered, pulling out two small bottles of Jack Daniels.

[00:26:15] They finished the bottles in about five minutes, then they snorted something. They continued talking in the same loud whispering tone but started gesturing towards me now. I pulled out an earbud so that I could listen. I did so covertly so they couldn't notice.

[00:26:33] Hey, you see the big guy in the suit? I know who he is. He can't hide from me. The guy next to me said, Man, what are you talking about? His friend asked. This guy in the suit, I know who he is. He's the devil. My ears perked.

[00:26:53] I turned slightly to watch them. If that's the devil, he's on this bus every day. Leave the kid alone, his friend said, turning away. Now I'm six foot three and 300 pounds. I'm burly. I wore my hair in a pompadour at the time and had a short, well-trimmed beard.

[00:27:14] I can see how that could be perceived as intimidating, but I'm just a big teddy bear. Definitely not the devil. The man continued, That's him, I'm sure of it. He's finally come for me. I won't go down without a fight.

[00:27:31] Then Crucifix Head dug through his backpack, pulled out a knife, and stared me down. At this point, the traffic had cleared and we were driving down the highway again. We were still 25 minutes from any bus station. He continued to stare.

[00:27:49] Fifteen minutes later, he turned away from me, kneeled on his seat, and started reciting the Lord's Prayer and Psalm 23-4. As he was reciting this, it was getting louder and louder. I was now freaked out, but then I heard text-to-speech in my earbud. My boss had texted me.

[00:28:09] I didn't see where you sat down. Please tell me you're not sitting next to the guy who's praying. He's even freaking out the driver. I hadn't even realized my boss was on the bus with me. I responded, Yeah, I am. He's got a knife.

[00:28:24] He called me the devil and he keeps staring at me. My boss asked me how I was getting home. I let him know that my initial plan was to walk, but now I wasn't so sure.

[00:28:36] After that, my plan was to gather my things and get ready for whatever was going to happen next. My boss texted me again and advised, Get off the bus as soon as it stops and move fast. Don't look at him, just move.

[00:28:50] My wife is around the corner from the bus stop in a van. Get in the back and lock the door. We pulled into the bus station after a nearly two-hour ride. I put my phone away and pulled out my hydro flask.

[00:29:04] I gripped the bottle by the handle, ready to swing just in case. Crucifix Head whispered to himself, I will be redeemed. I'm going to dance with the devil in the moonlight. I'm going to step on his toes. The air released from the bus as the door opened.

[00:29:23] I don't know how I looked moving that quickly off of a bus, but it must have been strange to see a guy as big as me in a suit rushing off the bus that way.

[00:29:33] As soon as I passed my boss's seat in the aisle, he stood up and followed me off the bus while watching the man. I rushed to his wife's van and slammed the door shut. My boss wasn't too far behind me, so I was finally able to breathe easy.

[00:29:49] My boss offered to drive me to work the next day, but I just decided that I would drive myself for the next couple of days. The man was so intoxicated, he couldn't process how to come after me since I moved so quickly.

[00:30:04] He rushed to get off the bus as the doors were closing and my boss snapped a picture of him. I went to the police to report it. They said that they would patrol the downtown area and look for him, but they never found him.

[00:30:16] If my boss wasn't there for me that day, I don't know what would have happened. To my boss, you're the real MVP. I'll never be able to express my gratitude. To Crucifix Head, who decided to recite psalms against a college student who was just trying

[00:30:32] to get home, fuck you. You better pray that you never meet this devil again. This took place in Southeast Texas in 2019. I'm a single woman and I was renting a townhouse at the time.

[00:30:59] My neighbor had just laid some sod down and I was worried that the horrible weeds on my side of the house would overtake her new grass. In Texas, renters are responsible for taking care of their yard.

[00:31:13] Every day, I saw this guy riding a bike down my street with a card attached to it that had yard tools. One day he approached me asking if I had any yard work that needed to be done and he gave me his card.

[00:31:25] I could tell that something was off, but I have a brother who is mentally disabled so I just figured that this guy might have some kind of social or learning disability. I didn't grow up around anyone who did drugs so I missed the very obvious telltale signs

[00:31:41] that he was a user just looking to get some money in any way that he could. My neighbor warned me about him and said that she didn't really trust him. Since I have osteoarthritis and I can't do much yard work myself, I asked him to till

[00:31:57] between my neighbor's yard and my yard. He did a good job so I paid him in cash and sent him on his way. After that, he kept calling or stopping by unannounced to ask if I needed any more work done.

[00:32:09] I was to the point where I was getting pretty uncomfortable. At one point, he told me that he had some weed whacker batteries that he had no use for and asked if I wanted to buy them from him.

[00:32:20] I told him that he could stop by but that I needed to make sure that they would fit my weed whacker before buying them. Since he only rode a bike, I assumed that he would come the following day because it was very cold, wet, and windy outside.

[00:32:36] I can't remember why but I had the door unlocked. This wasn't normal for me to do. I was shocked when he opened my front door and just let himself in. I am a third degree black belt in Taekwondo but no amount of training can prepare you

[00:32:54] for how you naturally react in a truly unexpected and scary situation. Listeners take note, I have learned over the course of a few scares that my response is to freeze. I wish I could say that it was to fight and put all that Taekwondo training into use

[00:33:12] but no, I just go into full shutdown and that's exactly what happened here. He left without incident but it really scared me. He could have done anything in that moment. No one would have known. At that point, I stopped answering his calls and text messages.

[00:33:31] I refused to answer the door. I started parking inside the garage so he wouldn't even know if I was home. That's when the harassment started though. For an entire week, he called me a minimum of six times per day. He would call during the day and at night.

[00:33:48] He started showing up at my house at random times, knocking on my door. One day, he showed up in the early evening. I didn't answer but he came back at 10pm, pounding on my door and shouting, I know you're home.

[00:34:04] I yelled through the door, you're really scaring me, I'm not answering the door, leave me alone. He did end up leaving and I decided to warn people on next door about him since he rode around the streets of our neighborhood giving out his card every day.

[00:34:21] After I posted about him on next door, I got so many comments with similar and even worse stories. One man commented that he found this guy on the sex offender registry. He was on the list for attempting to assault a 14 year old.

[00:34:36] I made a police report the next day. I knew they couldn't do anything because he hadn't threatened any physical violence but I wanted his harassment documented in case he tried to escalate things any further.

[00:34:50] When the police arrived at my house, he just happened to be riding his bike down my street. I made sure that he saw me as I pointed him out to the police. He never called or stopped by my place again.

[00:35:02] I still saw him riding down my street frequently and each time he would glare at me. To the sex offender who harassed me, let's not meet. This happened to me in 1993 when I was 8 years old.

[00:35:34] At that time, my family lived in a quiet neighborhood in a small city in Minnesota. This neighborhood had a lot of young kids and since it was the mid 90's my older brother and I would regularly play with our friends outside until the street lights came on.

[00:35:52] We knew most of our neighbors along the street and many of them had kids our age. There was this one house directly across the street from ours where a middle aged man lived.

[00:36:03] My brother and I only noticed him when he was smoking and hanging out in his garage. The man would do this while we were playing outside. We didn't think much of him because he was always quiet. He never said anything to us kids.

[00:36:19] For the purpose of this story, we'll call him the smoking man. In the summer, the sun didn't set until around 8.30pm. We knew that once the street lights turned on, we needed to wrap up whatever game we were playing, head home and get ready for bed.

[00:36:38] Whenever I'd go home, I'd head straight to my room. My room had a window that faced the street. There were no trees in front of our house. The house directly across from our street was highly visible, including the smoking man's house.

[00:36:54] When I got home on this particular night in June, I headed to my room. I turned on my light and yelled to my mom that I was ready for bed. Getting ready for bed included brushing my hair and changing into my pajamas.

[00:37:10] As I was doing this, my mom suddenly burst into my room, turned the light off, and ran to my window to close the blinds. Then she wrapped me in a blanket and told me to sit on the floor and yelled for my dad to come into my room.

[00:37:25] My mom and dad kept looking out the window. I had no idea what was happening. My mom and dad had never done this before. And as an 8 year old kid, seeing my ordinarily calm parents acting like this, I was scared. I kept asking my mom, what's wrong?

[00:37:41] What's happening? My mom finally told me that the smoking man was standing in his driveway and watching me through my window. I was honestly dumbstruck. I didn't understand why would he do that.

[00:37:55] Over the course of the next few days, I paid more attention to the smoking man and I noticed he always watched me while I played outside a lot. He also stood at the end of his driveway and stared directly at my window while smoking

[00:38:09] a cigarette when he knew that I was heading inside for the night. It slowly started to dawn on me that he was a sick person. I know it's naive, but prior to this realization, I assumed all of our neighbors, all grown

[00:38:25] ups in general I guess, were good people. I never considered that some of them might actually want to do terrible things to kids if given the chance. From that point on, I kept my distance and always kept an eye out for the smoking man.

[00:38:40] I also made sure to turn my lights off and close my blinds every evening. A few years later, the smoking man moved away and I never saw him again. I still think about what happened that day and how worried my parents were.

[00:38:56] I now have kids aged 6 and 9, so I'm extra cautious about my windows in our house and I try to keep an eye on our neighbors. Because you never know. So to the smoking man who used to watch and stare into an 8 year old girl's room, I hope

[00:39:14] you never get the chance to scare or hurt any of their children. Let's never meet. This happened in 2014 when I was out with some friends from high school. We graduated in 2006 and managed to keep in contact since graduation.

[00:39:49] We decided to meet up at a bar to have some drinks and go dancing. At the end of the night, my friends piled into the car. Our designated driver asked me if I was ready to go.

[00:40:01] I said no since I have never been good at riding in a car with a bunch of people while drunk. He laughed and asked, do you want one of us to stay here with you while I take everyone

[00:40:12] else home and then I can come back and get you? I drunkenly declined, no, I'm, uh, okay. I'll just go back in and sit down and wait. The designated driver was apprehensive about my response but he knew that it would be no

[00:40:29] good to argue with me whether I was drunk or sober. So he just said, okay, I'll hurry and come back for you as soon as possible. I stood there as I watched him and my friends finish piling into the car.

[00:40:45] I laughed when my friends turned on the radio slurring along to whatever song was playing as they drove off into the night. It was a beautiful night too, 68 degrees. To some that may not be warm but since I had a bunch of shots and mixed drinks and after

[00:41:02] dancing all night, it felt perfect to me. I was pretty carefree back then so I decided not to go back into the bar. I just stayed outside and admired the beautiful night sky as I let the cool breeze wash over me.

[00:41:16] I started humming a song that I knew, closed my eyes and swayed along to the music in my head. My inhibitions were so low that I didn't realize I was being watched until I heard a man's voice say, hey beautiful, what's your name?

[00:41:33] I popped my eyes open and looked at him. He was standing so close, uncomfortably close. I stumbled back slightly, trying to create some distance between us but he wasn't adding any of that. He impulsively grabbed my arms, pulled me toward him and said, whoa there, you almost

[00:41:52] went into the street, are you okay? I nodded and he continued, you never told me your name. I replied attempting to let him down easy but firmly, I know I didn't, look, I don't

[00:42:08] know who you are, you don't know me, I'm a little drunk and I don't feel comfortable sharing my name with a stranger, okay? He laughed, you're right, we don't know each other but I'm trying to change that, you're not cooperating.

[00:42:23] We continued to stand there and I started to wish that my designated driver would hurry up. I watched the road, looking at the people driving by intently, I was hoping he would get the picture, walk away and leave me alone. No such luck.

[00:42:40] At least we weren't the only two people outside, there were some people going in and out of the bar and the bouncer was opening and shutting the doors so I felt a bit safe

[00:42:50] and I assumed that the man wasn't dumb enough to try something right then and there. He broke the silence and asked, who are you watching for? Your boyfriend? Yeah, yeah, I'm waiting for him to pick me up, he'll be here any minute, I answered.

[00:43:08] What kind of boyfriend drops his girlfriend off at a bar, leaving her unprotected? The man wondered. If you were my girlfriend, there's no way I'd let you go to the bar without me.

[00:43:20] I didn't want to argue with him, he was much bigger and stronger than me so I just smiled while I kept looking for my friend. The man continued to ramble but I was ignoring everything that he was saying.

[00:43:33] The more he spoke, the closer he got to me so I was cornered before I knew it. He had me cornered, standing on the edge of the sidewalk so nowhere to go. If I stepped off the sidewalk, I would be standing in the busy street.

[00:43:50] He grabbed me by my waist, pulled me into him and raised my face up to look at him. I had never seen blue eyes that piercing in my life. They were so blue, I could see how bright they were even in the night.

[00:44:05] He then leaned down and whispered in my ear, nobody says that to me. Then he called me sweetheart. At that moment, my friend pulled up and yelled, hey, get away from her. The man let go of my waist immediately but maintained eye contact with me.

[00:44:24] My friend got out of the car and wrapped me in a hook. I whispered to my friend, go with me on this. I kissed him and said, it took you long enough babe, let's go home. And we were out of there.

[00:44:39] As we drove away, my friend asked what the hell was that about? I was so shaken up by what happened and what the man with the blue eyes was saying that it took me a minute to form an answer but I finally did.

[00:44:52] I don't know who that guy was but he just came out of nowhere, I explained. My friend and I should have called the police to file a report but that was still drunk me and I wasn't thinking so clearly, so I said no.

[00:45:07] My friend offered to stay the night with me just in case the man happened to follow us. I was afraid to be there alone after that, so I quickly accepted his offer. We went back to my place and

[00:45:18] my friend slept in the living room on the couch and I slept in my bed. The next morning, I woke up with the worst hangover. I went to the bathroom and then to the kitchen where my friend was making coffee.

[00:45:30] I took some Tylenol with my coffee, it's my go-to hangover cure. I talked about the previous night and how creeped out I was. After we finished our coffee, my friend decided to go home. Then I jumped in the shower and started my day like any other.

[00:45:48] After doing some housework, my friends called me because they wanted to meet up and walk around the neighborhood. We all met up at the top of the hill right by my house. As we were walking and reminiscing about anything and

[00:46:02] everything, I kept getting this nasty feeling in my stomach. I could also feel the hairs on the back of my neck standing up. It was a very creepy feeling. I tried to ignore it but it just wouldn't go away.

[00:46:17] As we rounded the corner, something told me to look up. I wish I hadn't. When I looked up, my blood ran cold. My heart felt like it dropped into my stomach. It was the man with the piercing blue eyes.

[00:46:32] He was standing at the end of the street looking at me and my friends. I was startled. I didn't realize I stopped dead in my tracks. One of my friends asked, are you all right? What's wrong? I honestly don't know if I even responded.

[00:46:49] I couldn't take my eyes off of the man. He was standing in front of my house. After calming myself down a bit, I started walking very slowly and told my friends all about what happened and who the man was.

[00:47:04] They suggested that we all go inside my house together. I didn't think walking into my house while the man was standing in front of it was a good idea, but I was so scared that I agreed. He stood there and watched us as I walked into the house.

[00:47:22] When I got to my door, I unlocked it and flew inside. I called the police to report him right away. I told them to come quickly. The police in my neighborhood are quick to respond, so they arrived in no time.

[00:47:35] I peeked out my window as he spoke to an officer and provided his identification. Next thing I knew, the cop was putting him in handcuffs. Afterward, the cop came up to my door. He told me that this guy had a warrant for his arrest.

[00:47:51] Apparently, he had drugged and assaulted three other women. He even had out of state charges. I couldn't help but think that that could have been me. I could have been next. Although I'm married and have children now,

[00:48:06] this creeps me out to this day and I still have nightmares about it. To the man with the blue eyes that considered making me his next victim, let's never ever meet again. Don't forget to stick around after the music for your extended ad-free version

[00:48:46] of this week's episode of Let's Not Meet, a true horror podcast. If you'd like to get access to that as well as hours of bonus content all ad-free, head over to patreon.com forward slash let's not meet podcast to sign up and support the show today.

[00:49:02] This week, you have heard, Why Go to Six Flags When You Can Have Red Flags by a listener that asked to remain anonymous, Weird as a Box of Hair by P-Dub, Train Ride in the Blue Mountains by Tori, Highway to Hell by Chris,

[00:49:20] Yardwork Helper Turned Harasser by Julie, The Smoking Man by Carly, and finally, The Man with the Blue Eyes by Donna. All of the stories you've heard this week were narrated and produced with the permission of their respective authors. Let's Not Meet, a true horror podcast,

[00:49:36] is not associated with Reddit or any of the message boards online. Make sure you send your stories to letsnotmeetstories at gmail.com if you'd like to hear them on the show. And don't forget to check out the new episodes of my other podcasts,

[00:49:48] Odd Trails, my True Paranormal podcast, Welcome to Paradise That Sucks, and the Old Time Radio cast at crypticcountypodcasts.com or wherever you get your podcasts. We'll see you all next week for a brand new episode. Stay safe.