12x05: Cute Without The E

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[00:00:09] Enjoy the show!

[00:00:30] This happened around 10 years ago, give or take, about a year in New York State.

[00:00:47] My friend Craig and I made plans to go hang out with our friend Jeremy and his new girlfriend.

[00:00:53] Neither of us had worked the next day so we grabbed some beers and made our way to Jeremy's

[00:00:58] mom's apartment complex where Jeremy was temporarily staying.

[00:01:02] When we got there, we went out into the woods behind the apartment complex to chill and drink.

[00:01:09] This wasn't just a little patch of trees, it was a pretty decently sized patch of forest.

[00:01:15] It was a nice fall day and it was late afternoon so the sun was still out.

[00:01:21] We finished the beers that we had and we decided to go get more.

[00:01:25] So we left, went to the store to get some more beer, returned to the apartment complex

[00:01:30] and re-entered the woods.

[00:01:32] When we got back, the daylight outside was right at that stage where it started to very

[00:01:38] quickly fade.

[00:01:39] Craig, Jeremy and I underestimated how dark it would be once we were back in the woods

[00:01:46] and we underestimated how quickly the sun was setting and how fast the light was

[00:01:50] fading away.

[00:01:52] We planned on building a fire but didn't realize how dark it would be by the time we got around

[00:01:58] to doing so.

[00:02:00] We walked into this area that was sort of a clearing.

[00:02:04] From there, several trails split off so we had a few options to choose from on where

[00:02:09] to go.

[00:02:11] We were having a good time laughing and talking when something in the not too far distance

[00:02:18] caught my eye.

[00:02:20] It was too dark for me to tell but I swore that I could see a very large figure.

[00:02:26] No, I thought to myself, that's too big.

[00:02:31] It's probably a tree or just your eyes messing with you.

[00:02:35] As Jeremy continued gabbing in the background, I suddenly asked Craig if he could see

[00:02:40] something standing in the forest up ahead.

[00:02:44] Craig responded, no where?

[00:02:48] And after taking a better look he continued, oh wait, there!

[00:02:53] Oh shit!

[00:02:55] We continued walking but it was becoming clear I was not seeing things after all.

[00:03:01] There was a very large person standing in the forest just up ahead facing us.

[00:03:07] I tried to get Jeremy's attention without clueing the big guy in on the fact that

[00:03:11] we noticed him.

[00:03:13] I went to air on the side of caution just in case something sketchy was going on as

[00:03:18] I had a serious feeling that there was something up.

[00:03:22] Craig and I told Jeremy that there was a person up ahead but Jeremy was in this jovial

[00:03:27] state and exclaimed, holy shit is that bigfoot!

[00:03:32] We humored him and laughed but it was evident to me and Craig that this was actually

[00:03:38] a creepy and probably not very safe situation that we were walking into.

[00:03:43] It was clear that Jeremy was not understanding this as his perception was vastly different.

[00:03:49] By this point, we had gotten too close not to acknowledge him.

[00:03:54] This was partially because it took me and Craig a moment to get Jeremy's attention

[00:03:59] and partially because we weren't trying to turn around and run like we were scared.

[00:04:04] There were four of us and one of him after all.

[00:04:07] But this was a very big guy.

[00:04:10] He wasn't supernaturally or artificially big and it wasn't like he was jacked or anything

[00:04:16] like that.

[00:04:17] He was just a genetically gigantic dude.

[00:04:21] He was very tall and sturdy without being hefty or bulky and he was just

[00:04:25] standing there in the middle of the forest in the dark all alone.

[00:04:31] As we approached this guy I said hello.

[00:04:34] Jeremy, being the absolute fool that he was, got way too close to this guy's personal space.

[00:04:41] He enthusiastically told the guy that he looked scary here in the woods alone.

[00:04:47] I thought you were going to jump up and scare us.

[00:04:50] Then Jeremy used his hands to mime an extra set of teeth coming out of his mouth like a

[00:04:56] xenomorph from the Alien movies.

[00:04:59] He was all up in this guy's face.

[00:05:02] To be clear, Jeremy wasn't trying to be intimidating or a jerk in any way.

[00:05:08] I guess he was trying to be friendly.

[00:05:10] He genuinely thought that he was joking around with this guy as he literally leaned into him

[00:05:17] doing his impression of an alien.

[00:05:20] I need to mention that Jeremy was kind of a moron.

[00:05:24] I love you Jeremy but truthfully you were kind of a moron.

[00:05:29] Jeremy's poor girlfriend who was a few years younger than us was very shy and clearly terrified.

[00:05:36] Another detail to which Jeremy was also oblivious.

[00:05:40] So Craig and I were both standing there trying to brainstorm a way out of this situation.

[00:05:46] We knew that Jeremy would be too dense to get it if we said we had to go.

[00:05:50] He would say something like what are you talking about we just got here.

[00:05:54] Are we in a building fire?

[00:05:56] Saying anything deflective was too risky and we were just trying to seem confident and in control of the situation.

[00:06:04] The big guy finally said you guys drinking I got some drinks too.

[00:06:10] Then he walked over to the tree line where he had a bag leaning beside a tree and he reached into the bag.

[00:06:18] He grabbed a beer with one hand and sneakily pulled something else out of the bag with his other

[00:06:24] and placed it in the pocket of his hoodie.

[00:06:27] I was convinced this was some kind of weapon maybe a knife.

[00:06:30] He then re-approached us and cracked his beer open.

[00:06:36] I glanced around casually and I noticed something else.

[00:06:40] Somebody else was out there.

[00:06:43] There was someone slowly and quietly moving along the tree line to our left.

[00:06:48] This second person was a relatively good distance away but I saw them.

[00:06:56] They were circling as though they were planning to come up behind us.

[00:07:00] I couldn't help but think fuck this I need to leave now.

[00:07:04] So I said well I gotta work in the morning Craig's driving me home so we gotta head out of here.

[00:07:12] Jeremy reacting exactly as I expected replied.

[00:07:16] What you didn't say you had work tomorrow?

[00:07:20] I internally face-palmed so hard as I sighed.

[00:07:24] No Jeremy you misunderstood I said I do have work tomorrow.

[00:07:29] Then Jeremy proving there's no end to his wisdom said all right guys well it was nice

[00:07:36] hanging out with you get home safe turns out he didn't think he was going to leave the

[00:07:41] woods with us. As Craig and I started walking back I told him about the other person circling

[00:07:47] to get behind us and I said that we needed to move. We quickly brainstormed on how we were

[00:07:53] going to get Jeremy and his girlfriend out of there and decided to call him.

[00:07:58] We told him that his mom was out in the parking lot looking for him.

[00:08:02] Craig explained that Jeremy is terrified of his mom so we figured that this would work.

[00:08:08] We knew that we couldn't even lay out the details over the phone because he would just say something

[00:08:13] like what are you guys talking about this guy isn't sketchy at all I feel totally safe.

[00:08:20] We took the mom approach and our excuse to get Jeremy out of the forest worked.

[00:08:26] Jeremy was very mad at us for lying about his mom but I think his girlfriend appreciated it.

[00:08:32] I'm not sure what was going on out in the woods that night. I've talked to several people about it

[00:08:38] over the years and there have been a few different questions floating around. Did the two of these

[00:08:44] people see us when we were initially out there and assumed that we were coming back?

[00:08:49] Were they waiting for us or did we nearly stumble into something that we were not meant to?

[00:08:55] We were not meant to.

[00:08:57] Almost everyone I tell this story to says that we accidentally interrupted a drug deal

[00:09:03] but something about that doesn't seem right. In any case it was very creepy and very scary.

[00:09:11] I just thought that I would share.

[00:09:25] I'm from Aria Roa New Zealand. We have the occasional missing person case or

[00:09:35] scary case around these parts but otherwise it's relatively safe and not much happens.

[00:09:42] As a 19 year old girl I feel comfortable walking the streets at night by myself

[00:09:48] or going on hikes alone because it's pretty safe and generally everyone looks out for each other.

[00:09:54] This happened in the summer of 2019. My boyfriend and I were headed out on a picnic date to a spot

[00:10:01] that we had visited plenty of times, the Karakariki track. This place is located at the end of a very

[00:10:07] long windy rural farm road off of the State Highway. Basically you drive about 15 to 20 minutes

[00:10:14] from the main road and then down a long rural stretch. Then it ends with a large cul-de-sac

[00:10:22] and a massive farm surrounding the area. The track is about a 15 minute walk away from the cul-de-sac

[00:10:29] slash car park. The owners of the land where the track is located have left it open to the public

[00:10:35] as a nature reserve because there are native trees and other plants and wildlife unique to the area.

[00:10:43] There is also a small waterfall that you can swim in. The track is very popular and it's one

[00:10:48] of the closest swimming spots to the nearest city which is Hamilton. This area is very scenic.

[00:10:54] You cross suspension bridges, pass by creek beds, etc. The farmers who own the land still come around

[00:11:02] to do their farm work and maintain the grounds. There are fenced off areas that the general

[00:11:07] public cannot enter as they still actively work on the land. On this day my boyfriend and I

[00:11:15] were very happy because it was empty in the parking lot and it was an excessively hot summer day.

[00:11:22] This place would generally be packed on such a warm day so this was rare. When we arrived

[00:11:28] we saw one of the farmers crossing the cows through the gate on a quad. As we got out

[00:11:34] of our car he smiled and waved at us. He was an older man and we had spoken with him before

[00:11:41] as we were regular visitors. We immediately set off towards the waterfall. We crossed the

[00:11:47] suspension bridge and passed through a big paddock of cows. The track is quite narrow and the creek

[00:11:55] is right off the edges so you have to be careful as you're walking. We saw the waterfall but

[00:12:01] ultimately decided against swimming as we had no towels so we headed back in the direction of

[00:12:07] the car park. On our way back we decided to go down a steep gravel off ramp on the track that led

[00:12:15] to a more private and tree covered area right by the creek. After we settled into a spot down there

[00:12:23] I lay on my stomach reading a book while my boyfriend sat up and played on his phone.

[00:12:29] We were there for about 10 minutes before I turned and glanced up the gravel path

[00:12:34] way up further on the hill. Through one of the farmer's gates I saw this big man on a quad bike

[00:12:41] who I didn't recognize. I only knew of the old couple working the land so it was a little

[00:12:48] unexpected to see him on the non-public side of their gates. He was just sitting there

[00:12:54] staring at me and my boyfriend. I don't want to even think about how long he had been there

[00:12:59] before we noticed him. I told my boyfriend and as soon as the guy saw that we were both looking at him

[00:13:05] he opened the gate and started heading down the hill. This guy came down the hill and the gravel

[00:13:12] inclined and ran his quad right up through the creek. He got off of the quad but left it running

[00:13:20] as it sat in the water. He was talking by himself saying things along the lines of

[00:13:26] fuck I've messed up my quad my engine is fucked over and over again. My boyfriend and I were

[00:13:33] gathering our things to leave but he started to head toward us. He didn't even make small talk

[00:13:40] which was really strange. He asked have you guys seen any fish? I'm looking for some fish to kill.

[00:13:49] My boyfriend told the guy that there weren't any fish in the creek in its fresh water.

[00:13:53] He told the guy that he could probably catch some eel. This sent him into a fit and he grumbled.

[00:14:01] I don't want no fucking eel. I want to kill some fish.

[00:14:06] As I was finishing packing up I was trying not to look at the guy in the eyes as I didn't

[00:14:11] want to draw the conversation towards myself since I was already extremely freaked out.

[00:14:18] And I mean I really didn't want him to notice that I was freaked out. Thankfully my boyfriend is

[00:14:24] calm and strong when it comes to interactions or encounters like this. I bent down to tie my shoe

[00:14:32] and when I stood back up that's when I saw a pistol on the man's waist. This was the first

[00:14:39] and only time in my entire life I had seen a gun in real life. It's incredibly hard to obtain

[00:14:47] a firearm in New Zealand especially after the regulations following the mass shooting in Christ

[00:14:53] Church. Not only that he had a pistol on his belt and another in his hand that he was waving about

[00:15:01] as he spoke to my boyfriend about wanting to kill some fish. He was aiming the gun in his hand

[00:15:09] down to the creek every now and again but he kept taking breaks from that to swing it

[00:15:14] around his finger. My boyfriend gave me this concerned look. Concerned is the best word for

[00:15:20] it because the look told me a million things in that moment. Then he subtly nodded his head towards

[00:15:28] the gravel path leading uphill back to the track. I grabbed the two bags that we had,

[00:15:33] pretended to check my phone for messages and told the man that our family was waiting for us

[00:15:38] back at the car park. He completely ignored what I said and deflected. That's a cool hat you've got on.

[00:15:47] I chose not to engage and dismissed myself before saying goodbye and starting to make

[00:15:52] my way to the gravel path. As I was walking up the hill the guy told my boyfriend,

[00:15:58] that's a real pretty girl you got there. My boyfriend quickly responded,

[00:16:04] thanks we'll be off now. And then headed up the gravel path behind me.

[00:16:10] The guy continued talking as if the conversation hadn't ended even though we both said our

[00:16:16] goodbyes and headed out. He just stood there gun in hand, gabbing away and watching us leave.

[00:16:25] As soon as we were around the bend we sprinted all the way back to the car park

[00:16:30] where there were over 10 empty gun shells. On our way out we ran into two girls who were

[00:16:37] just arriving and informed them about everything. They got in their cars and left immediately.

[00:16:43] We tried to go to the farmer's house to ask if he knew the guy as we had never seen him

[00:16:48] on their land before but they weren't home. This incident has stuck with me for the past

[00:16:55] few years and my boyfriend and I have not been able to return to that spot. It sucks because

[00:17:01] that's where we had our first date so it's a sentimental place for us. I had to drive past

[00:17:07] the road leading to the track for about a year as I commuted between towns and it always made me

[00:17:13] feel sick. I could have lost my life or my partner that day. I'm always extremely

[00:17:19] grateful that my boyfriend is the man that he is and was able to steer us away from that guy.

[00:17:26] He knew how to communicate with me through his expressions and subtle movements to guide me

[00:17:32] as I was in my freaked out state.

[00:17:35] This happened when I was an angsty teenager. I moved in with my mother and stepdad to escape a

[00:17:54] less than desirable situation. Because of the move I had to enroll in a new school.

[00:18:01] This school was located in one of the sketchiest neighborhoods in the city.

[00:18:06] Everyone who resided in that area was relatively low income, my family included. We had a rec center

[00:18:13] near where the school was that was a hotspot for teenage boys who wandered over from the nearby

[00:18:19] high school to cat-call girls. During my time at this school I made an eclectic group of

[00:18:25] friends. There was one friend in particular who became my best friend, we'll call her Blondie.

[00:18:32] I was a people pleaser and Blondie took advantage of that. She was nice enough but she was problematic.

[00:18:39] Regardless, we were fast friends and thus began our very short-lived friendship.

[00:18:44] Over the years she mainly came over to my house since I was an only child. Plus,

[00:18:50] we usually had the house to ourselves when my folks were at work.

[00:18:54] Then she finally invited me over to her house around the middle of the school year.

[00:19:00] I was very excited. I wanted to meet her family since they were such an enigma.

[00:19:06] Blondie wasn't one to divulge information about her home life. All I knew was that she lived

[00:19:12] with her mother, stepdad and younger sibling. It was nice that I finally had the honor

[00:19:17] to meet them and honestly, her family was amazing. They were kind and treated me well.

[00:19:24] Not to mention, her stepdad was a phenomenal cook. He made some of the best food I ever ate. After that,

[00:19:31] I started going to her house more and more and I enjoyed it. Well fast forward a month or two

[00:19:36] before the end of the school year. It was Blondie's birthday. Her family was throwing

[00:19:42] a little get together at her house and I was invited. Blondie and I headed to her house after

[00:19:47] school and we had a great time until the end of the day. Now, I knew next to nothing about her

[00:19:55] biological father. I knew that he wasn't really in the picture but he would sometimes drop by and

[00:20:01] say hello. I had never met him personally until he made a surprise appearance at Blondie's

[00:20:08] birthday to give her a present. We were all in the living room meeting some cake and there was a knock

[00:20:15] at the front door. Blondie's mom answered the door and her face quickly shifted from a nice smile

[00:20:22] into a scowl. If looks could kill, the guy on the receiving end of that scowl would be dead.

[00:20:29] She moved aside and the man walked in. When I tell you that there was a shift in the

[00:20:33] atmosphere I kid you not, I immediately felt it. Even as a generally oblivious teenager,

[00:20:41] I knew that something was up. I'll never forget how everyone in the room got tense,

[00:20:47] except for Blondie who excitedly greeted her dad. At the time he seemed like a normal guy with

[00:20:54] a bit of a creepy side but I didn't want to judge him. Blondie introduced me to her

[00:21:00] father and we exchanged some pleasantries. At one point I was invited to get some ice cream with

[00:21:06] them the following day which I accepted saying yes to free ice cream was a no-brainer.

[00:21:13] The conversation with Blondie and her dad went so smoothly that it caused me to quickly forget

[00:21:18] about the visceral reaction everyone had upon seeing him. I honestly didn't even think about that

[00:21:25] until after I agreed to go out to ice cream with them. Maybe if I remembered sooner I would have

[00:21:31] said no. Her dad eventually left and everyone else resumed eating cake. The following day rolled

[00:21:39] around and I went for ice cream with Blondie and her dad. I can't remember much about that day

[00:21:46] other than the fact that he had asked me if I had a boyfriend or a girlfriend. This made me

[00:21:52] feel strange but I gave him the benefit of the doubt hoping the question was just innocent.

[00:21:59] I went out with him and Blondie a few more times before my dad moved to another city and we

[00:22:04] lost touch. Fast forward a few years later I was attending college. I had managed to stay in

[00:22:12] contact with one person from my middle school days let's call her Teddy. Teddy had reached

[00:22:19] out to me one day asking if I wanted to go to a movie which I happily agreed to. Her invitation

[00:22:26] had perfect timing since I needed a little pick me up. A film with an old friend was exactly what I

[00:22:32] needed. I took the train to the nearby mall where I met up with Teddy and watched the movie.

[00:22:38] Afterward we headed to the food court and got something to eat. We were catching up as

[00:22:43] it had been a couple of years since we last saw each other. Teddy suddenly parked up and asked me

[00:22:49] if I heard about Blondie's father. I told her I had not been in contact with Blondie since I moved.

[00:22:56] Teddy's face tensed up as she told me that Blondie's father had murdered a woman. He got away

[00:23:03] with it for two years until his truck finally got him caught. There was something unique

[00:23:09] about the truck that eventually linked him to the crime. Teddy couldn't tell me much more because

[00:23:15] she didn't know anything else but this was still the most mind-blowing story that my little brain

[00:23:20] had ever heard. I remember going back to my dorm and trying to google more details

[00:23:27] but I couldn't find a damn thing. I eventually forgot about it until just last year 2023.

[00:23:34] I was speaking with a friend when I suddenly remembered Teddy's story. After some digging

[00:23:40] I finally found an article that described the crime. I clicked on it and when I saw the courtroom

[00:23:45] pictures of Blondie's dad, well words cannot describe what I felt. Everything Teddy told

[00:23:52] me was true but it was so much worse than what she and I thought. Out of respect for the victim

[00:23:59] and her family I won't describe what he did but he was arrested three years after he had done this.

[00:24:06] He was charged with manslaughter and he took a plea bargain. He only served half of his 14-year

[00:24:13] sentence. I looked him up to see if I could find out any more information about him and I found

[00:24:18] that he was released from prison just a few months ago and then he killed another woman.

[00:24:25] From what I've read this murder had similarities to the other murder that he committed. This time

[00:24:30] around he was charged with second degree murder and indignity to a body.

[00:24:37] Both of his victims were mothers. They were both cruelly taken from this world and I still

[00:24:43] can't wrap my mind around all of this. I met a monster. I went out for ice cream with him.

[00:24:49] I was best friends with his daughter. I can't even imagine how Blondie must have felt after

[00:24:56] her father was convicted of these crimes. I wish I had an update on Blondie but she has a different

[00:25:01] last name than her father. I've never been able to find her online or reconnect with her but

[00:25:07] I hope that she's okay.

[00:25:24] This happened recently as I was leaving my friend's house. I accidentally backed into a brick mailbox

[00:25:31] in front of her neighbor's house. My bike rack hit the mailbox so my car was okay but the mailbox

[00:25:37] was completely demolished. I figured this was no big deal. This was why we have insurance right?

[00:25:45] I knocked on the door and told my friend's neighbor what happened. I gave them my name,

[00:25:50] phone number and insurance information. All I got was his first name Robert.

[00:25:56] From the get go Robert was very creepy. He utilized my number often trying to hit on me and trying

[00:26:05] to date me. He kept specifically expressing an interest in quote feeding me. He was completely

[00:26:13] fixated on trying to get me to eat food with him. By the time Robert began texting me about

[00:26:20] repairing the mailbox he was insisting that it would be better for both of us to just pay out

[00:26:26] of pocket for it. He sent me a link to a company that said that they could fix it for 500 bucks.

[00:26:33] He also demanded that I go on a date with him so I could give him the cash that he needed

[00:26:37] for the repair and yet again emphasized that he could feed me. I don't know what his deal

[00:26:44] with food was. He was always bringing up food. I declined everything and started to get annoyed

[00:26:52] by his constant texts and calls. In the next couple of days every time he texted me I only

[00:26:59] responded with please contact my insurance company but he continued reaching out to me

[00:27:06] so I told him you're harassing me and blocked him. He immediately started texting

[00:27:12] me from a different number and threatened to report it as a hit and run to the police.

[00:27:17] Now I'm in law school. I knew that this was not a hit and run so I blocked his second

[00:27:24] number without responding. He then texted me from yet another new number and asked me if I

[00:27:30] wanted him to send video of the accident to his insurance company. This made me angry so I

[00:27:37] called this number. I remember digging my nails into my thigh so hard that I drew blood. I was so

[00:27:45] mad at him for threatening to report a hit and run. I was mad about the unwanted attention

[00:27:51] and his continual efforts to ask me out on dates and feed me. I was mad that he was

[00:27:56] trying to convince me to pay out of pocket instead of going through insurance.

[00:28:01] When he picked up I screamed, don't contact me again you piece of shit.

[00:28:09] And with that I blocked the third number. The next day Robert reached out again and told me

[00:28:17] that I had given him the incorrect policy number. I told him I didn't. He again insisted

[00:28:25] that it would be easier just to pay cash. He was talking to his insurance and began trying to

[00:28:31] validate my info. He had my mom's name, address, and phone number. I verified everything and told

[00:28:38] him not to contact me ever again and I blocked his fourth number. The next morning I woke up

[00:28:46] extremely early to a text from him that basically said he's finished making the claim. He told

[00:28:52] me that I was awful for making it harder than it needed to be by going through insurance and

[00:28:57] refusing to go on a date with him. He concluded by saying, you're so beautiful but so ugly at

[00:29:06] the same time. Keep not taking risks and stay on the good path. Goodbye. This was so off-putting

[00:29:14] but I still didn't respond. I was feeling scared. I decided to block this fifth number.

[00:29:21] Then midnight rolled around and he texted from a sixth number. Are you up? I know where you live.

[00:29:31] You're not going to screw me over on insurance. You should have just gone on a date with me.

[00:29:38] I showed the messages to my dad. He's a pretty scary dude. He called Robert from my phone.

[00:29:45] Robert answered, shoot. I knew you were into me. Want to come over?

[00:29:52] My dad got very mad. My dad said this was beyond harassment and gave Robert his final

[00:29:57] warning to stop contacting me. My dad said that we didn't care how he reported it. He just

[00:30:03] needed to leave me alone. Then Robert tried to tell my dad that I came on to him and after

[00:30:10] that he was instantly blocked. The next day we talked to our insurance company. We also talked to

[00:30:17] the police and got a protective order filed. I received another text telling me that I shouldn't

[00:30:25] involve the police. I blocked this seventh number, notified the police and stayed at my dad's since

[00:30:31] Robert didn't have that address or so I thought. Then one night as I was staying over there

[00:30:39] I was watching Star Wars with my dad and my older brother when the doorbell unexpectedly rang.

[00:30:46] My dad opened the door and it was fucking Robert. He had a trash bag filled with things that I quote

[00:30:53] left at his house. My dad went ballistic and I called the cops who arrived and arrested him.

[00:31:00] What was in the trash bag? You ask?

[00:31:04] lingerie, a knife, lip balm and a fetish book.

[00:31:12] After he was arrested he was charged with stalking, trespassing and felony assault

[00:31:18] since he tried to push my dad. Another charge was added on for insurance fraud

[00:31:23] since he lied about the accident to his insurance company. He was also charged

[00:31:27] with possession of a deadly weapon with intent to injure due to the knife that was in the trash bag.

[00:31:34] After speaking with an attorney I found out Robert doesn't even own the house that he's living in.

[00:31:40] It was also discovered that he's living in the country illegally and he's now being deported.

[00:31:47] I'm returning to the out-of-state college I'm attending soon

[00:31:51] and I'm so terrified that he or someone that he knows will follow me.

[00:32:04] I'm a female and this happened to me when I was 22. I'm now in my 30s.

[00:32:09] At the time I was preparing applications for grad school.

[00:32:15] Each evening after work I would go to the local university library

[00:32:19] and I would stay there to work on them until closing which was 11 p.m.

[00:32:24] I took the subway to my neighborhood and decided to make a quick stop at the nearby 24-hour grocery

[00:32:30] store to get some things for a late night dinner. After I bought my items I went back outside

[00:32:36] and waited at the crosswalk for the light to change so that I could cross the street.

[00:32:41] At least two other people were waiting at the crosswalk as well.

[00:32:46] Even though it was late it wasn't uncommon for other people to be out as I lived in a major

[00:32:51] metropolitan area. Then suddenly a man came running out of seemingly nowhere and he stopped and

[00:32:59] stood right next to me. He was middle-aged about 5'7 had a slim build. I thought that maybe he

[00:33:07] ran because he wanted to make sure he would make the light and not miss the chance to cross.

[00:33:13] However as we were crossing the street I noticed that he started to make some odd movements with

[00:33:19] his legs. I don't really know how to describe it other than to say he was kind of tripping himself

[00:33:28] and drastically slowing down. This caused him to go from walking in front of me to being

[00:33:33] directly behind me. I have a very petite and feminine build. I looked very young

[00:33:40] and was clutching library books in my arms but I'm also a black woman. I truly thought

[00:33:47] that he was scared to have me walk behind him. It never even entered my mind that I would be the

[00:33:53] one in danger. I simply noted his behavior, laughed it off and then forgot about him.

[00:33:59] On my walk home I passed a small convenience store that I frequented for expensive fresh

[00:34:05] produce that was also open 24 hours. I decided to make a quick stop there to get a few more items

[00:34:12] for dinner. I was in the store for maybe 5 minutes and had forgotten all about that man from the

[00:34:19] crosswalk but then when I exited the store he was standing outside. I was so startled.

[00:34:28] It was evident that he had been waiting for me. My heart started to pound in my chest

[00:34:34] as I shifted into survival mode. As soon as I passed him and continued walking home

[00:34:40] he also started walking, following right behind me. I could hear his steps and sense his presence

[00:34:48] staying close behind me. I thought to myself that I needed to make sure that he was actually

[00:34:54] following me so that I could plan my next moves. I could see the entrance to the subway

[00:35:00] just ahead of me so I decided I would duck into the subway station to see if he followed me in.

[00:35:06] More importantly, if he was following me I figured I could ask for help from the ticket

[00:35:12] collector. Unfortunately when I went into the station the ticket collector was not in the booth

[00:35:18] and the station was completely empty. I spontaneously decided to hide against a wall

[00:35:25] that was to my left. This wall could not be seen from the street entrance.

[00:35:31] About 30 seconds later the man walked into the station so nonchalantly that he was almost skipping.

[00:35:39] He walked right past me since he didn't see me hiding and headed straight for the turnstile

[00:35:44] as if his plan all along was to take the train. Then right at the last minute before he

[00:35:51] entered through the turnstile he looked behind him and he saw me standing against the wall.

[00:35:59] As soon as he saw me he stopped turned around and walked back out of the station.

[00:36:06] Once he saw that I wasn't really going into the station he realized he no longer needed to

[00:36:10] go down to the subway. That's when I knew I was undeniably in danger.

[00:36:15] I took out my phone and called my roommate Tim. I prayed that he was home and able to pick up

[00:36:23] my call and when he did I explained in a panic what was happening. Are you home can you come get me?

[00:36:30] I asked. Tim asked me if the man was still around so I carefully peeked around the wall

[00:36:36] to look out into the street and there he was standing smoking and laughing with some other

[00:36:43] guys. He was literally making friends as he waited for me outside of the station.

[00:36:49] I told Tim yes the man was still there. A train must have arrived downstairs in the subway because

[00:36:56] at that moment there was suddenly a bunch of people coming through the turnstile and exiting

[00:37:00] the station. Tim and I agreed that I should leave the station in this crowd of people, stay

[00:37:06] on the phone with him and he would meet me on the street. Our house was only a five minute

[00:37:11] walk away from the station and we lived on the same street so we were essentially walking toward

[00:37:17] each other. When I left the station with the crowd I had to pass the man. He saw me in the crowd

[00:37:24] and I saw him throw down his cigarette. I heard him tell the men that he had been talking to

[00:37:29] that he had to go and continued to follow me. I told Tim what was happening since we were

[00:37:36] still on the phone together. I tried to walk as quickly as I could but there was snow and ice on

[00:37:42] the sidewalk. All the while I knew that the man was behind me but I was too scared to look back

[00:37:49] to check. It felt like an eternity but I finally saw Tim walking toward me on the sidewalk.

[00:37:56] Tim and I were both young but Tim who was 20 at the time is tall over six feet.

[00:38:02] I felt a wave of relief as he came to my side. He told me that he grabbed a knife from the kitchen

[00:38:09] to defend us just in case. We quickly walked to our house which was just up ahead. We went inside

[00:38:16] quickly and locked the door keeping the lights off. We looked out the window for the man but

[00:38:20] luckily he was nowhere in sight.

[00:38:32] Tim and I were both young but Tim was too scared to look back.

[00:38:41] This happened about three years ago but I still think about it from time to time

[00:38:45] and it still creeps me out. I'm a male and I was 21 at the time. I had just moved into

[00:38:53] a new apartment on the first floor of a building that backed into the woods.

[00:38:58] It was late one night and my roommate was out when somebody knocked on the door.

[00:39:04] This wasn't uncommon. We were in college and my roommates had friends that would come by and hang

[00:39:09] out all hours of the day. I just figured it was one of his friends so I got up and checked

[00:39:15] the peephole. Staring right back at me through the peephole was an eyeball pressed against it.

[00:39:22] This is also something that one of our friends just might do to be funny so I chuckled as I opened the

[00:39:28] door. I was surprised to see a man in his mid-20s whom I didn't recognize standing there.

[00:39:36] He was strange to say the least. He was very upbeat and immediately launched into this door

[00:39:43] to door salesman type of pitch. I can't remember exactly what he was selling but it was

[00:39:49] something that pertained to the local university which I also attended at the time.

[00:39:56] The whole time he was talking I noticed that he kept looking past me into the apartment.

[00:40:02] He was fidgeting and even standing on his tiptoes to see past me. I clocked all of this but

[00:40:09] I just thought that the guy was weird and maybe he was just nervous.

[00:40:13] I politely declined to buy anything from him but he wouldn't take no for an answer.

[00:40:19] I finally had to be pretty stern in telling him that I wasn't interested.

[00:40:24] He finally accepted defeat and as I was closing the door he put his hand out

[00:40:30] and grasped the door frame to stop the door from closing.

[00:40:35] Before I had a chance to be like what the fuck?

[00:40:39] He smiled at me and said,

[00:40:41] I like Mario Kart on Nintendo 64 too.

[00:40:46] My roommate and I had been staying up late into the night playing Mario Kart 64 for the past

[00:40:51] several days but there was nothing that he could see from my apartment entrance

[00:40:56] that had anything to do with Mario Kart. The Nintendo 64 in my games were in my room

[00:41:03] which could not be seen from the front door. I was taken aback and tried to add things up in

[00:41:09] my head as I asked how did you know I play Mario Kart? The guy got very nervous

[00:41:17] and he tried to materialize a response. He stammered, oh uh I just thought that anyone with a couch

[00:41:26] like that would be into Mario Kart on Nintendo 64 because you know it's like a retro game and that's

[00:41:34] a retro couch. What kind of explanation is that? I thought. He said okay buy and literally just

[00:41:45] scurried away. I shut the door and locked it still trying to piece together how he could

[00:41:52] have known that because obviously it wasn't my grandma's old couch that linked him to Mario Kart 64.

[00:42:01] My roommate got home shortly after that and I immediately told him about the odd encounter.

[00:42:06] He was freaked out as well and we started investigating. At first it seemed as if

[00:42:13] there was no way that he could have seen inside my bedroom. It wasn't visible from the front door

[00:42:18] and didn't seem visible from outside since my blinds are always down. We went outside and

[00:42:24] discovered that it was possible to see into my room through the blinds if you had your face

[00:42:30] pressed right up against the window. Here's a few more details. My window was over a balcony

[00:42:39] and the Nintendo 64 console itself was inside of the TV stand so it wasn't even visible.

[00:42:46] This means that you would only be able to see that we were playing Mario Kart if we were actively

[00:42:52] playing which we never did until we were stoned and it was 2 a.m. So basically this fucking creep

[00:43:01] had been jumping the railing onto our balcony pressing his face against my window and watching

[00:43:07] us play Mario Kart in the middle of the night. Needless to say I was pretty paranoid for

[00:43:14] a while after that. I constantly checked my window and kept jolting awake in the middle of the night

[00:43:21] paranoid that he was standing just a couple of feet away watching me sleep. Although this was

[00:43:27] unsettling, I'm glad that it was just an isolated encounter. I'm glad that nothing more ever came

[00:43:33] of it. I never saw him again but I've always wondered what his motives were.

[00:43:51] This happened over seven years ago. I rented out a house for a year and the year was almost up.

[00:43:58] I wasn't going to be extending the rental lease beyond 12 months so it was time for me to start

[00:44:04] cleaning up packing and moving my stuff to the next place. The house that I had at the time

[00:44:10] was fairly small but it was plenty of space for just me. I had just finished cleaning out and

[00:44:18] packing up the living room other than the furniture and I had moved on to do the same

[00:44:22] in the kitchen. There were quite a few cabinets. There were so many cabinets that I didn't use a

[00:44:29] good number of them. I was looking through some of the ones that I didn't use just to make sure that

[00:44:35] they had nothing in them. As I opened one of the many empty cabinets, I saw something tucked

[00:44:42] away in the back corner. It looked like some type of shirt or possibly a rag. I grabbed it

[00:44:50] and I saw that it was not mine but when I moved the cloth a small white lever was revealed.

[00:44:58] It was so small and tucked away that I could barely see it. This cabinet in particular

[00:45:05] was in the corner by the sink and halfway blocked by the stove. I was curious so I crawled inside

[00:45:13] the cabinet which was pretty large. Once I was fully inside, I saw that there was a small trap door

[00:45:21] on the side leading into the wall. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. You had to be completely

[00:45:28] inside in order to see the details of it. I decided to open the door which led to an

[00:45:35] extremely narrow hallway and into a crawl space. When I got further inside I was horrified.

[00:45:42] I saw that there was food and several blankets as if somebody had been living inside.

[00:45:50] The good news at least to me was that whoever was in there appeared to be gone.

[00:45:57] I tried to make sense of it and figure out how long whoever had been occupying that space had

[00:46:03] been there and I wondered how I didn't even know about this space at all.

[00:46:08] Sure, I was in and out of the house often due to work and other things but I didn't know someone

[00:46:14] could live there without me knowing about it. I continued cleaning until it got pretty late

[00:46:21] and the next day after work I continued. I was still kind of in shock from finding out about

[00:46:27] this secret room and decided to look at it once again. I opened the cabinet and went inside.

[00:46:35] I then pulled the lever to open it up just like I had the previous day.

[00:46:39] But this time as I opened it, I saw movement. I saw a person for a split second.

[00:46:47] They then slammed the door back shut on me. I immediately turned and ran all the way out of

[00:46:53] my house, got into my car and called the police. I was so scared that I pulled out

[00:46:57] of the driveway and started driving. I told the police the whole situation and they came

[00:47:02] to my house a short time later and found that whoever had been there was now gone again.

[00:47:09] I was disgusted knowing that some random person had access to my house for who knows how long.

[00:47:15] It felt like a vivid nightmare that I needed to wake up from.

[00:47:20] When I opened up my phone to call the police, the date was brightly displayed as June 23rd,

[00:47:26] 2016. That adrenaline fueled moment is still so vivid in my mind that I've always been able

[00:47:34] to remember that date even seven years later. It stayed with me like a scar,

[00:47:40] a scar that I don't know if I'll ever heal from. Luckily for me, I moved out the following week.

[00:47:48] Honestly, I have no clue how long the person was living in my secret room,

[00:47:53] but thankfully I never encountered a problem with whoever did live there.

[00:47:58] Thanks for listening to my true horror story and remember to always lock your doors because

[00:48:04] you never know what people can do and what kind of spaces they'll find when they're in your house.

[00:48:23] In the early 2000s, during the golden age of social media, I was an avid user of my space.

[00:48:34] I enjoyed connecting with friends, meeting new people, sharing music, and customizing my profile

[00:48:40] with glittery HTML-coded backgrounds. And the most emo song lyrics scrawled all over the place,

[00:48:49] of course. Little did I know that my innocent online presence would lead to a chilling encounter.

[00:48:56] One day, I received a friend request from a user with the cryptic username

[00:49:01] cute without the E. Intrigued by the mysterious allure of the name,

[00:49:07] I accepted the request without giving it much thought.

[00:49:10] What started as a seemingly harmless online friendship took a very dark turn.

[00:49:16] Cute's messages were peculiar, filled with cryptic poetry and enigmatic riddles. After being

[00:49:23] initially amused and enamored by the mystique, I soon became uneasy as the messages took a more

[00:49:28] personal and invasive turn. Cute seemed to know details about my life that I hadn't shared

[00:49:34] online, referencing my school, my friends, and even my daily routines. Alarmed and unsettled,

[00:49:43] I decided to confront Cute, demanding to know how they obtained such intimate information.

[00:49:50] In response, Cute claimed to be a guardian spirit who was sent to watch over me.

[00:49:57] He said he was summoned to protect me from unseen dangers.

[00:50:02] Despite the bizarre explanation, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was being closely observed.

[00:50:08] As days turned into weeks, the messages grew increasingly sinister.

[00:50:14] Cute spoke of a deep connection between our souls, a bond that went beyond the digital realm.

[00:50:21] Gripped by fear, I initially confided in my dad. He urged me to report Cute to the

[00:50:28] Myspace administrators, so I did, but he always reappeared with a new account

[00:50:33] picking up right where he left off.

[00:50:35] The situation escalated once stormy night when I received a message that sent shivers down my spine.

[00:50:41] Cute claimed to be right outside of my house. I knew that he was, as he accurately described,

[00:50:47] the flickering streetlight that had been casting eerie shadows on my bedroom wall for months.

[00:50:53] Panic set in as I peered outside into the darkness and saw... nobody.

[00:51:00] Still terrified, I called the police.

[00:51:03] Still terrified, I called the police, who were surprisingly able to trace the messages to an IP

[00:51:09] address but were unable to pinpoint the exact location. Fearing for my safety, I took a hiatus

[00:51:16] from Myspace. The messages ceased after that but my memory remains. Years later, long after

[00:51:23] Myspace faded into internet history, I stumbled upon an old news article. It detailed the

[00:51:30] arrest of a local individual involved in a string of cyber stalking cases, including mine.

[00:51:37] Driven by an unhealthy obsession, the man in the article had targeted multiple individuals

[00:51:42] all over social media igniting fear and paranoia in myself and many others.

[00:51:47] In looking this up and falling down the rabbit hole, I saw him unmasked for the first time.

[00:51:54] He was taken to court by a different victim but I was listed as a victim of his as well,

[00:52:00] in the case documents. Cute, I'm glad that we never actually met. Let's keep it that way.

[00:52:25] Thanks everyone for listening and make sure you stick around after the music for your

[00:52:29] extended ad-free version of this week's episode with some bonus stories. If you'd like to get

[00:52:34] access, head over to patreon.com forward slash let's not meet podcast to sign up and support

[00:52:39] the show today. You'll get access instantly to hours and hours of bonus content and stories

[00:52:44] you won't hear anywhere else. This week you have heard large scary man alone in the woods by

[00:52:50] the Silph Secret, approached by armed creeper on rural track by Sirius Cow 2026.

[00:52:59] I met a future murderer when I was a child by Mikey. Car accident turned creepy encounter by

[00:53:06] Pothos Babe. Man followed me home. Roommate came to the rescue with a knife by Nectarine 313.

[00:53:14] Very unsettling encounter with the stranger at my door by Vanilla Ave.

[00:53:19] My true house cleaning horror story by great one 198 and finally cute without the E by

[00:53:25] Buff Orpington. All of the stories you've heard this week were narrated and produced with the

[00:53:30] permission of their respective authors. Let's not meet a true horror podcast is not associated

[00:53:35] with Reddit or any other message boards online. As always, if you have a story to share,

[00:53:39] send it to let's not meet stories at gmail.com. And finally don't forget to check out the

[00:53:43] new episodes of my other podcasts like Odd Trails, my true paranormal podcast and the

[00:53:48] old time radio cast all at crypticcountypodcasts.com or wherever you get your podcasts. We'll see

[00:53:54] you next week. Stay safe.

[00:54:24] This happened in 2017.