11x13: Lost Stories 18

[00:00:00] This podcast contains adult language and content listener discretion is advised. If you have a story to share, send it to letsnotmeetstories at gmail.com. Enjoy the show. Hello everyone, and welcome to yet another edition of the Lost Stories, a series where we share more of those

[00:00:46] classic, previously lost recordings from the early days of the show. Thanks to the help of some of the most loyal listeners, we've had the pleasure of recovering these creepy old relics. And this

[00:00:56] time around, we have a collection of stories for you from back in 2017 that are sure to keep you in suspense. Enjoy. A couple of weeks ago, my parents and I went to see It out of town,

[00:01:28] about an hour away from where we live. It's a nicer theater chain up that way. And so it was a great place to see the film, especially since Dad and I had been waiting to see it for months.

[00:01:40] We had gone to the 10.30pm showing, as close to midnight as we could get. Plus Dad wanted to see it at night, so it was extra spooky. Afterwards, my parents and I went to the nearby Walmart to pick

[00:01:54] up cards for my grandfather's birthday. His birthday was a couple days ago. We also got some lemon juice. I don't know why my dad needed lemon juice, but whatever. It's somewhat important to

[00:02:07] the story. When we entered Walmart, about 12.45am, the place was nearly devoid of life. A few teams roamed the aisles, and I recognized a woman from our It showing. Other than that, the place was

[00:02:22] eerily quiet and rather lifeless. Dad sped off to the food section while Mom and I made our way to the cards. She said she and Dad had already gotten cards, so she was going to look at purses while I

[00:02:36] hunted for a birthday card. I nodded and watched her walk away, and looked at the cards alone in the aisle. I got the feeling that I was being watched, and I thought it was probably because

[00:02:49] I had just seen It, and it had set me on edge. I kept expecting Pennywise to meander around the corner and lure me to him with a smile. Instead, I got something potentially and realistically worse.

[00:03:04] A man looking to be in his 40s, though he had a weathered face of a drug user, could have been 30, came into the aisle. I hoped he was just there for a card, would pick out what he needed,

[00:03:19] and then leave. He said hello, and I said hello, and I turned away, pretending to be very immersed in the card selection, hoping that it would convey that I wasn't in any mood to talk.

[00:03:32] How are you? He asked. Fine. What's the occasion, if you don't mind me asking? I did mind, but what else could I do, ignore him? I didn't look at him, but out of the corner of my

[00:03:47] eye I could see he was moving closer. I stepped away. A birthday card for my grandpa. How old is he going to be? 82. I picked up a card, pretending to read it, looking in my periphery

[00:04:02] for my mom. Surely if she could see me, she'd come back. I know I'm 21, but she said she wouldn't be far away. He whistled, looked me up and down with wide eyes. I felt filthy, dusty, and I wanted to

[00:04:20] wash my hands just being near him. I had a grandma, he said. She was 83. I looked after her, you know. We got along real well. I nodded and still didn't look at him. Yeah, I said.

[00:04:40] I took real good care of her, he said as he stepped closer, leaving only two or three feet between us. No one else had come by, leaving us alone in the aisle. I bet your granddaddy loves

[00:04:52] you. Uh-huh. He stared at me. I could feel his eyes bore holes through my leggings as he looked at my thighs. I bet your granddaddy's little princess. You're a princess, all right.

[00:05:08] Um, sure, something like that. Why was I still talking? Why was he still here and where was my mother? I know I shouldn't rely on that and she won't always be there, but she was nearby.

[00:05:21] Couldn't she swoop in? We stood in silence for a while, me frantically looking for a card, trying to ignore the strange, heavily breathing man standing next to me. Eventually he spoke again, even though I'm certain my body language was screaming for him to just go away.

[00:05:42] What made you decide to cut your hair so short? He smiled at me when I glanced at him and behind him looking for my mom. Tired of being long, I guess. I had read nearly every card on the shelf

[00:05:58] and picked up one that I liked. I was going to use it as my excuse to leave, but he had stepped closer and was looking at the cards just left of mine. Is that your natural

[00:06:10] color? It wasn't, but I was beyond caring to be polite. Sure, I said. Sure is nice. He stared at me and I could see his eyes traveling down to my chest. I like that shirt too. Huh? Even though

[00:06:28] part of me was scolding myself for not being nice, the other part of me was trying to formulate an escape route to find either my mom or dad. Yeah, he purred. That shirt is nice on you.

[00:06:42] Just the kind of thing a little princess like you needs to wear. Flowers and butterflies. That sweet little girl stuff. By this time I was on the cusp of a panic attack. I told him I needed

[00:06:57] to go, but he insisted he was going to help me find a good card for my granddaddy. I said I was fine and said I was good, but he persisted whispering under his breath. I want to help you.

[00:07:12] You're so attractive and I'm very attracted to you. That was it. I stepped back and without looking at him, I said, I'm going to look in the next aisle. Okay? Okay, baby doll. I sprinted into the next aisle down it and through the shoes section,

[00:07:30] trying to hold back my tears and vomit as I hunted for my parents. When I found my mom, I collapsed into her arms and told her everything. She tried to joke it off, but my panic attack had

[00:07:42] finally hit me and I wasn't in the mood to joke. In my mind, I was two interactions away from being kidnapped. In my mind, he had already dragged me into his truck and drove me away,

[00:07:55] telling me what a precious little girl I was. I asked my mom if we could leave now and she texted my dad to hurry his ass up. Dad finally met up with us. Mom relayed what had happened

[00:08:08] and we checked out and exited the store. I felt as if this man was going to be just behind me, waiting to grab me, but he was nowhere in the store. Just outside of it. We exited and there

[00:08:22] he was sitting on a bench just outside of the door. His eyes lit up recognizing me and I immediately hit on the other side of my dad staring at the ground and I heard him speak.

[00:08:35] How are you fine fellas doing tonight? You know, at Walmart at one o'clock in the morning with a frazzled daughter. My dad waves pretty well. My mom took the time to lean around my dad and whisper,

[00:08:49] is that him? I nodded and I began to shake. You think you could give me a ride home? The man asked. Dad looked at me then mom, then shook his head. No, I don't think we can. The gross rotten

[00:09:07] velvet purr was back in the man's throat. Oh, come on. I'm a lot of fun. I'll be good to you. A sharp tone shot through my dad's voice. No, I don't think so. Good night. We made it to the car

[00:09:23] and thankfully the man didn't follow. My heart was in my throat and it was a good 20 minutes before I could speak again. My parents shared a meaningful silence while I sniffled and dried my eyes in the

[00:09:36] backseat. We all were thinking about the same thing. If they hadn't been there, what would have happened? The man had been waiting outside the door. What would he have done to me if I had not

[00:09:51] been able to get away? This happened yesterday and I'm still a little creeped out. So, I've had crooked teeth my whole life and I really hadn't minded it that much. We couldn't afford braces so

[00:10:17] I haven't been to the orthodontist at all. Well, recently my insurance let us know that if I needed braces they would pay for most of the costs. It's state insurance, so we were surprised.

[00:10:30] My mom jumped at the offer saying that I should straighten my teeth while I have the chance before I'm a legal adult. So, this was my first trip to the orthodontist. I think I should preface

[00:10:42] by saying that this office was tiny and looked like an old trailer attached to the side of a larger building. We checked in, were led to a room and everything seemed pretty normal. Well, before he even comes into the room I hear the orthodontist ask his assistant,

[00:11:00] what about tonight? Do you want to go to dinner tonight? Sounding annoyed she replied, no someone is picking me up after work. It sounded like this has happened before.

[00:11:13] When he came into the room, the first thing he said was, what's a cute kid like you doing in a place like this? My mom glanced at me for a minute before talking to the doctor. He just straight up

[00:11:27] stared at me for a while while she talks to him until he crosses the room to look at pictures of my teeth. He says, you have a beautiful smile, you have beautiful, beautiful teeth.

[00:11:41] I took it as a compliment the first five times he said it until he added, man I wish those teeth were in my mouth. The commentary after this was equally as weird. He kept saying things like,

[00:11:55] you're already beautiful why would you need to straighten your teeth? And, we can't make your teeth straight, you'd have to beat off the boys with the stick. Exact words. Keep in mind

[00:12:08] this man is over 70 years old and I'm 16 and I even look young for my age. This comment was the one that really kind of topped everything off. He put his gloves on and these were his exact words,

[00:12:25] okay I'm going to slide my fingers in your mouth. I know they taste good and you can lick but you can't bite. Then he giggled, what the fuck? It didn't really get creepier than that but I don't

[00:12:42] really know how it could. He talked to my mom for a few minutes about my dentist, said I had beautiful teeth a few more times and finally left. I don't know if I'm overreacting or misinterpreting this

[00:12:56] but it really freaked me out. My mom wants me to see another orthodontist but we can't because of our insurance. If I figure out a way to see a new one, creepy orthodontist guy, let's not meet again.

[00:13:11] And just an update from the author, they did say that they called their insurance provider and they were able to switch to a new office. Apparently other people requested to switch as well for the

[00:13:23] same reasons. I hope that they're at least keeping an eye on this guy to make sure nothing else happens. So still, creepy orthodontist, let's not meet. This is a let's not meet situation which occurred when my son was four years old. I am 100% sure

[00:13:56] that my kid prevented something horrible happening to me. It turned out to be an episode of Law and Order with a terrifying ending. By way of background, I live in Milwaukee which has the honor

[00:14:09] of being the most racially segregated city in the country. It's a cool city overall but we have a really shitty inner city with a ton of poverty, violence, and gang activity. At the time this

[00:14:23] happened, I was living in sort of an in-between area, not in the ghetto but also not a super nice area either. I was a 22 year old single mom. I lived on a ground floor apartment on one of the

[00:14:36] main streets. I parked in the back alley behind the building. My front door faced the street and I had a side door too with a walk running between my building and the next door. I got home in the

[00:14:48] middle of the afternoon on a Saturday with my kid. As we drove down the alley to get to my parking spot, I saw a guy in a hoodie sort of lurking around by my parking spot. It was weird because

[00:15:00] it was warm outside and he had his hood up but there were also a bunch of gangster wannabe kids in the neighborhood so whatever. It was definitely an odd place to be just standing though. As I got

[00:15:12] close to the building and started pulling into my parking spot, he turned around and started walking towards the street past my side door and he definitely left because I arrived. I figured he

[00:15:24] was smoking a blunt or something. I didn't think anything of it and I got my son and some bags out of the car. I went the same way the guy had just taken to my side of the door. I didn't see him at

[00:15:35] all. My son and I went inside and I was in the process of putting stuff down when my doorbell rang. I wasn't expecting anyone and I immediately thought that it was this guy. Being young and naïve

[00:15:48] I answered the front door. It was the same guy still with his hood up. He immediately smiled at me but not in a super friendly way. More of a leer. He looked to be about 16 with cornrows and a fake

[00:16:03] gold grill that was studded with little fake diamonds. I regretted opening the door but here I was so I went with it. Hi! He kept staring at me and said nothing. At this point I saw another kid

[00:16:17] in a hoodie pacing behind him on the sidewalk and looking at us. I was quickly realizing that this was not a good situation. My son who I had momentarily forgotten about came up behind me.

[00:16:32] He did the shy kid thing where he stood behind me and poked his head out from behind my butt and looked at the guy. Hoodie dude looked at him for a couple of seconds then back at me.

[00:16:43] Yo is Danielle around? I don't know who that is maybe try the other door. I gestured to my neighbor's door to the left. You sure? Yeah sorry. Then he left walking in the opposite direction of

[00:16:58] my neighbor's door. Hoodie dude number two followed him. I thought it was really weird that they didn't even try to check next door for this quote-unquote Danielle. I thought the whole thing was really

[00:17:09] weird. My boyfriend got to my apartment a few minutes later and I was very glad to see him. He had a really old jeep that he always parked out front on the main street. He went out to get

[00:17:21] something from his car shortly after he arrived and it was gone. Fuck! Car theft is a pretty common thing in my neighborhood but stealing it from the main street in broad daylight was still pretty

[00:17:33] ballsy. So we called the cops, filed a report, and the whole nine yards. I told the cop about I told the cop about hoodie dudes since it seemed like it could be important. I was able to give my

[00:17:46] best description of the guy who came to my door asking for Danielle. I had no idea if it was relevant but the fact that the jeep was stolen shortly after these guys were around seemed pretty

[00:17:57] relevant to me. That's where the story ended until two days later. I got a call from a different cop from the downtown precinct. He told me that they had found my jeep and other than the ignition it

[00:18:08] wasn't damaged. He asked if I could come downtown to do a lineup to see if I could identify the people who had knocked on my door right before the jeep was taken. That was weird. A lineup for a

[00:18:21] stolen car? But I agreed. He asked if I could come down in a couple of days. Also weird that they wouldn't want me to do it right away but I was mostly focused on the fact that doing a lineup

[00:18:33] was pretty fucking cool. So I go to the downtown precinct a couple of days later. The way this went seems sort of unorthodox but it was what it was. Two detectives took me into a dark room where

[00:18:47] a woman in her 50s was sitting with a young woman in a wheelchair. The young woman's lower leg was in a giant cast with the whole metal contraption surrounding it with maybe a dozen metal rods going

[00:19:01] into the cast itself. At this point I had no idea what the fuck was happening. The detectives instructed us that we weren't to say anything during the lineup except if we wanted the guys

[00:19:14] to turn around again or whatever and that we couldn't talk to each other at all. We ended up having to wait in the room for almost an hour in the dark, awkwardly not speaking. They explained it

[00:19:26] was taking more time than anticipated to get the 12 guys from jail over to the precinct. Finally we got started. They did two lineups and gave us forms to mark 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6. There was a large window

[00:19:41] in front of us and they explained that the guys could not see us. They turned the lights on in the room behind that window and brought each guy in individually. I couldn't identify anyone in the

[00:19:53] first lineup. I felt sort of bad actually but I couldn't. The second lineup started and I didn't recognize guys 1, 2, or 3 but then number 4 came out and I immediately recognized the dude who had

[00:20:08] knocked on my door. He didn't have his stupid grill anymore but it was definitely the guy. After the lineup was done they brought the other two women into the hallway and told me to stay put.

[00:20:21] After a few minutes they came back in to get me. The detectives asked if I recognized anyone and I told them I was very sure about number 4 in the lineup but I couldn't identify anyone in that

[00:20:33] first lineup. I had gathered by this point that hoodie dude number 2 had likely been in the first lineup but I hadn't gotten a good look at him and he was pacing on the sidewalk. They had me sign

[00:20:47] two forms, one for each lineup with the second form identifying number 4 as hoodie dude number 1. When I gave the forms back the detective told me that they could tell me what was actually going on

[00:21:00] now that the lineup was done. Good because I was confused as fuck by this point. He explained that number 4 was indeed one of the guys that they had arrested with my boyfriend's jeep. The guys had

[00:21:13] stolen the jeep and driven to a nearby part of town into a quiet and lily white neighborhood. I am also white and this is relevant. They came across a young couple unloading groceries from

[00:21:26] their car. The young woman with the leg contraption was the female half of that couple. They parked the stolen jeep behind the couple, got out, and immediately shot both of them.

[00:21:40] They shot the woman in the leg and shot the young man in the dick. He was still in the hospital in bad condition which is why he wasn't there. The older woman was the girl's mom and had brought

[00:21:55] her from the hospital to do the lineup. The reason it was delayed a couple of days was because she had emergency surgery to try and fix the damage done to her leg. The guys didn't demand

[00:22:08] anything from the couple or take anything from them after the shooting. They just immediately shot at them. The young woman managed to remember the license plate number of the jeep and they were

[00:22:19] apprehended in a corner store when a cop saw the stolen car parked outside shortly after the shooting. The shooters were both teenagers but were charged as adults. One of them had stupidly talked

[00:22:32] a bit before lawyering up. He had told the detective that it was a gang initiation, that they had to shoot a white person. That was the price of admission. They had stolen my boyfriend's car after

[00:22:46] taking the bus out to the street I lived on. They had figured it would be easier to get away if they had wheels. The detectives were pretty sure I would have been the original target of opportunity but

[00:22:58] couldn't explain why they didn't go through with it. Nerves maybe. I knew why. It was because he saw my kid peeking out from behind me. They told me I might have to testify if the case went to court

[00:23:11] and told me I'd hear from the DA's office when they needed me. A couple of months later one of the detectives called me and told me that the hoodie dudes did plead out to attempted murder

[00:23:22] charges in exchange for reduced time. The guy who got shot in the dick survived. I didn't ask how many years they got but I assume they're probably still in prison 13 years later. As an

[00:23:35] ironic post script to the story my boyfriend had the same jeep stolen from the very same spot in front of my apartment about four months later, also in broad daylight. That time they didn't find

[00:23:47] it right away. He was staying over my house weeks later when we got a call around 2am from the MPD arson unit. They torched it and left it in the middle of the street in a notoriously violent

[00:23:59] area of the city. I moved after that. This happened in the early 2000s when I was around nine or ten years old. A large majority of my family decided to visit one of my elderly aunts

[00:24:30] in Waco, Texas. She lived in a bad part of town but due to how my family was it didn't bother any of us. It was about 11pm and everyone was in the living room singing along to the musical

[00:24:45] on the television, lounging around on blanket pallets and pajamas and enjoying each other's company. When I say the living room was full it's an understatement. We were practically on top of

[00:24:57] each other but it didn't spoil our fun. What did spoil our fun was the front door opening slowly. Everyone immediately went silent because one, we were not expecting anyone and two, the only

[00:25:14] other person with the key to my aunt's house was her son who was in another state on business. What I know now as the barrel of a rifle began coming through the door with the person peering

[00:25:27] around. As soon as I saw the person's eyes they immediately yanked the gun back and said oh I'm sorry I have the wrong house I'm looking for a friend. Closed the door and took off.

[00:25:43] Nobody moved. Nobody blinked or exhaled for at least a minute. At the time I did not know how close my family came to death. As soon as everyone came to their senses my elderly aunt made record

[00:25:59] time locking and bolting her door. No one slept easy that night. My aunt never moved out of that house or neighborhood despite her son begging and even offering to move her in with him.

[00:26:13] She says I'm not letting some wannabe gangster scare me out of my house. I wish I had the balls that she did. So scary gangster man let's not meet. I posted this story once before in a lot less

[00:26:40] detail and a different thread but never here. It is 100% true it happened back in the late 1980s when I was home one summer on break from college. About two years prior my dad had purchased an old

[00:26:55] house with the intention of eventually tearing it down and building a new home. The house was built in 1916 and like most homes built in that era it had a really unconventional floor plan.

[00:27:09] There was a central living room and a kitchen like any normal home but the three bedrooms were more akin to separate apartments. Each had its own separate outside entrance, a private bathroom,

[00:27:24] and a door that led to the common area living room and kitchen. Perhaps the place was originally intended to be a boarding house or something I really don't know. The other thing that was a

[00:27:35] little creepy about the house was that it was all wood. The ceilings, the walls, the floors were all brown and nothing was ever painted or plastered. My dad was a pretty cool guy. While he was waiting

[00:27:48] for the permits and financing he let three of my friends live there for free in exchange for watching the place. They had a lot of parties and my dad didn't really care as long as none of the

[00:27:59] neighbors complained. I went to a few of the parties there myself when I was lucky enough to be home from college. Eventually two of my friends moved out leaving my one buddy there

[00:28:10] to watch the house which was mostly empty on his own. He was not the type of person to be afraid of living alone in a half-empty house so he was fine with the situation. I'm at home one afternoon

[00:28:22] when the phone rings. It's my buddy and he sounds terrified. He tells me to call the police and to meet him out front of the driveway of that house but under no conditions go in. I ask him why and

[00:28:36] he tells me that there's a crazy clown in the house. Apparently he was sick with the flu in bed for the previous two days. When he finally felt well enough to go into the kitchen to get something

[00:28:48] to eat he comes face to face with a crazy woman dressed as a clown and makeup who starts screaming at him. It was then that he ran out of the house and called me in a panic from the nearby gas

[00:29:03] station. I called the police and then drove over to his house which was about two miles away. I find my buddy on the sidewalk out in front and he's real shaken up. I ask him to describe what he saw

[00:29:16] and he keeps saying that there is this crazy clown woman in the house. I ask for more specific details and he describes her as dressed in a white clown suit with red makeup smeared all over her face.

[00:29:31] He's still a little sick and he looks really bad and honestly he is really freaking me out. There is no way in hell that I was going to go into that house to investigate his story.

[00:29:43] After what seemed like an eternity a cop shows up. My buddy tells him the same exact story. The cop then goes into the house while we wait outside. After about five minutes he emerges escorting a

[00:29:56] crazy clown woman who looks exactly as my friend described her. She was wild, unkempt, brown hair, and wearing a weird baggy one-piece. What was really disturbing though is her face. She had

[00:30:11] a tube of lipstick which she crudely spread all over her cheeks in a failed attempt I suppose to make her face look rosy. Although we were both freaked out the cop thought it was hilarious. The

[00:30:25] clown woman claimed it was her house and then accused us of being on drugs and trespassing on her property. When the cop told her to get in the back of the squad car she warned him that she had

[00:30:37] powerful friends in Tinseltown who would have him fired. When he comes back to talk to us he tells us he can't arrest her for breaking and entering because the house is half abandoned. He said the

[00:30:51] best he could do was drive her a few blocks away and hope that she doesn't wander back. This of course freaks us out even more. Fortunately though when they run a background check on her it turns

[00:31:04] out she has an outstanding warrant and would be going to jail instead. That is the last time we ever saw her. When we go back into the house we find all kinds of crazy stuff written on the

[00:31:15] kitchen cabinets in the same red lipstick she had smeared all over her face. There was also some 10 day old fish in the fridge that my friend never caught around to eating that the clown woman cooked

[00:31:27] on the stove and ate. The really scary thing though was that this crazy woman was in the same house with my friend for at least a day while he was sick and semi-delirious in bed with a fever.

[00:31:40] She was probably harmless but who knows what she would have done if she had stumbled upon him while he was sleeping. His door was unlocked the entire time. Fortunately she never did as far as we know.

[00:31:53] One of the things that she wrote on the cabinet and lipstick was her name. While I'm not allowed to disclose it here I googled it and found a mug shot that was taken of her some years later. Also crazy clown lady let's not meet.

[00:32:13] This all happened Tuesday night. My significant other Kyle and I went to an absolutely fantastic concert for New Year's Eve. We met up with a few friends but they all left right after midnight. The bands were great so we wanted to stay for the rest of the show.

[00:32:29] Kyle got a call from a good friend Nathan around 1am. Nathan said that he was at the same bar and wanted to know if we were still there. We were stoked because Nathan never gets out of the house.

[00:32:41] He's a super cool guy and we love hanging out with him. He had his girlfriend with him who I also liked a lot and his friend Derek. I don't like Derek at all. Derek just gives off creepy vibes.

[00:32:55] He talks slow and monotone and he stares for too long and leans in too close. He is Nathan's pity friend. They were best friends for a long time and Derek's family did a lot for Nathan during a

[00:33:09] rough time. Nathan will bring him along every now and then because he feels obligated at this point but he has no trust in him whatsoever. Derek is a drug addict. Anyways we all hang out and have

[00:33:22] some laughs. Derek sits there being freaky as usual just staring at everyone. When he would speak it would be something off the wall and completely unrelated to anything we were talking about.

[00:33:36] Once he looked at Dawn and I and said, I think it'd be really weird if you two made out okay? Yeah that yeah it would be weird. We just ignored him and kept having fun. The bar closed down and

[00:33:51] Kyle asked them if they wanted to come to our house and have some more drinks and play foosball and Tekken. Now I was a little annoyed because he didn't okay this with me first and I was ready for

[00:34:01] bed. I wasn't that upset though. I know Kyle likes to have company. I told Kyle that I wouldn't mind if it was just Nathan and Dawn but I don't want Derek in our house. I don't trust him. Kyle brushes

[00:34:14] it off and says, what's the worst that could happen? It'll be fine. He's just weird. Well when we were all leaving we had to wait for Derek in the parking lot for the longest time. Turns out he was

[00:34:26] waiting outside the door of the bar trying to get any girl to come with him, bribing them with free pills. I got mad and said, what makes you think it's okay to invite random people to my house? And he

[00:34:37] just laughed. We get to my house and he sits on the couch by me. He keeps poking me and when I ask what he wants he just stares for about 10 seconds before saying, what's up? I started ignoring him.

[00:34:52] He continues to poke me and try to tickle my feet. I wouldn't even look over. Then he starts getting phone calls from people asking for pills. I went to the bathroom and he tried to follow me

[00:35:04] in there. I just pushed him out and locked the door and he continued to knock. After this, he starts trying to get Nathan and Dawn to take him home which was 45 minutes away and it's 4 a.m. They

[00:35:17] tell him no way and that they had agreed that he was staying with them. They actually wanted to go to their house and sleep in their own bed 10 minutes away. He didn't want to go to their house.

[00:35:29] He wanted to either go home or stay at our house. He started whining and telling me that I had to convince them to stay and I told him no. He started saying that Dawn had drank too much to drive.

[00:35:42] The girl had one beer the entire night. When they were going to leave, Derek comes back in and says he needs to use the bathroom. Kyle is overly trusting of people and doesn't pay attention to

[00:35:54] weird behavior. Now I'm the opposite so I was keeping an eye on Derek. I caught him going through my prescription bottles. They were nothing but antibiotics but it pissed me off that he was trying

[00:36:05] to steal from us anyway. I told him he needed to leave immediately. He then stood in our kitchen refusing to leave, staring at us. I said that they were waiting on him and he needed to go with

[00:36:17] them. He kept staring and said don't you remember the time that I gave you guys a ride? Well make it even. You either convince them to stay or I stay here and y'all take me home. No, no way.

[00:36:32] He gave us a ride home once when we had a flat and we lived two blocks apart at the time. We are not going 45 minutes out of our way to take a weirdo home that's refusing to leave

[00:36:43] for reasons unknown. He keeps saying that Dawn was drunk. Kyle finally speaks up and says if you get in a roadblock I'll come get you. Derek responds well are you gonna post the bail too because

[00:36:56] we're your responsibility now. I am beyond frustrated at this point and told Kyle you invited them now you get rid of them. I went and sat on the couch. Derek continued to stand there

[00:37:09] and stare at Kyle. Now Kyle normally passive is getting angry and telling him that it's time for him to go and we aren't taking him home or convincing anyone to stay. Derek says that he's

[00:37:21] not leaving so he has to do one or the other. Kyle finally went outside and got Nathan to come literally drag Derek to the car. Nathan apologized profusely and says that he isn't going to bring Derek around

[00:37:33] anymore. I also asked Kyle not to invite people over without okaying it with me first. One because we both live there and it's rude. Two because he doesn't pay attention to weird people and three

[00:37:46] because he invites people over at inappropriate times. Of course this goes both ways. I'll make sure he's cool with me bringing people over as well. However Derek lets not meet. This happened

[00:38:15] to me about a month and a half ago. For context I enjoy working out four to five times a week. I go to a CrossFit gym that is relatively small so the warm-up rounds are usually done outside.

[00:38:28] The gym is near a street that's surrounded by trees on both sides and that road stretches for about a mile which is a great place for the gym goers to run and is in fact encouraged on some days.

[00:38:42] I'm also a short female and I don't really look fit so I'm on the chubby side. This however also gives me a false sense of security since in my head I didn't look like the traditional standard

[00:38:54] of beauty therefore I wouldn't be a focal point for any creeps. Clearly I was wrong. I got to the gym in the morning. When I read the routine board the warm-up said we had to go outside down to the

[00:39:08] previously mentioned road. It was actually a pretty warm and sunny day so I decided to go and do it. It wasn't the first time I went alone down that road and my biggest worry so far was getting

[00:39:19] caught in the rain which wasn't a concern on that particular morning. I grabbed my phone and my headphones to listen to some music on my warm-up jog as usual and immediately went out of the gym

[00:39:30] to begin the small walk between the gym building and the beginning of that road. Halfway there this car passes by me and slows down driving at the speed I was walking. He honks his horn several

[00:39:43] times to get my attention and I turn to look thinking that he needed directions or something but when I looked he gave me this wide unsettling grin and waved at me then drove off. At the moment

[00:39:59] I didn't think anything of it since as a female I do get the occasional honk and inappropriate comment about my bounce or things like that when I'm outside warming up. So I simply shrug it off,

[00:40:10] turn up the volume of my music and continue heading towards the intersection that connects to the road. What started to give me creepy vibes was that as I'm walking to said intersection I

[00:40:22] notice the car waiting at the red light. As soon as that light turns green the car did a u-turn and headed back towards my direction. Once more slowing down his speed he looks at me with that

[00:40:36] creepy grin eyeing me up and down and making me feel exposed. My heart began to race but I tried to ignore it since he was going the opposite direction as me now and besides it was in the

[00:40:50] middle of the day where there were other cars passing by so he wouldn't try anything else. At least that's what I tried to convince myself of. By this time I had reached the intersection so

[00:41:01] I turned onto the road and began to jog alongside it. I was a little concerned by this dude literally going out of his way to look at me but I tried to concentrate on keeping my pace and my breathing

[00:41:12] at a steady rate using my music to keep distracted. Not two minutes had passed when I see on the opposite side of the road that car slowing down beside me again. This meant that he made

[00:41:27] another u-turn somewhere took the light at the intersection again and turned to the same direction I was jogging towards. The man looked right at me with that stupid grin. He said some

[00:41:40] words to me that I didn't really catch since I had my volume up pretty high before he sped off once more. At this point I'm starting to freak out because he's gone out of his way twice. I'm hyper

[00:41:52] aware of my heartbeat as I feel a wave of panic begin to wash over me. I suddenly realize that I'm starting my jog down this road where there are no buildings around, no place to hide, and I'm

[00:42:05] completely alone. Right up the hill of that road there's another intersection that can't be seen from where I currently am. But something was telling me that this dude was going to make

[00:42:16] yet another u-turn and pass me again. I see another jogger a little up ahead and since I really want to do this workout I decide to catch up to him. In my head I figured that he must be

[00:42:28] one of the gym goers if he was running up that road so maybe I could jog with him and have some company. I pick up my pace to get to him faster. Eventually I do but I don't recognize him.

[00:42:41] Remember my gym is rather small so the faces get pretty familiar rather quickly. Still I hoped maybe he was a new member or just one of the few that I hadn't met yet. I just wanted an excuse

[00:42:53] not to be alone. So I ask him if by any chance he goes to the gym down the road, not wanting to be too specific in case he ended up also being a creep. But he tells me no. Shit. I thank him

[00:43:06] anyway and decide to bolt back down to the gym. There's no way I'm running up this lonely street by myself with some stranger following me in his car. God knows what his intentions were with me.

[00:43:17] But considering his expression I wasn't willing to take that risk and find out. As I'm heading down the road on my way back the car passes me yet again. Just as I had expected

[00:43:28] he had gotten to the second intersection and made a third u-turn if you're counting. Still that creepy grin on his lips still slowing down his speed to drive at my pace. His eyes looking at me as if I

[00:43:41] were absolutely naked in front of him. He was closer to me now and I could see through the window that while his left hand was on the wheel his right hand was actually on his lap gripping something in it.

[00:43:54] I quickly looked away fearing what I thought I saw was what I actually saw. I didn't want to confirm my suspicions but I was clearly shaken. My jog turned into running when he speeds off again.

[00:44:10] I'm literally on the verge of a panic only focusing on how the hell I was going to reach the gym safely. Sure it wasn't that far but obviously I couldn't outrun a car.

[00:44:22] I turn off my music and call my best friend on the phone. I don't know why I did that since she's overseas studying and there was no way for her to help me. I should have called the police instead

[00:44:33] but my panic-ridden brain was only thinking about getting back safely and having someone to keep me company even if only on the phone in the meantime. While I wait for her to pick up the phone I

[00:44:44] noticed the first intersection up ahead but to my horror the car was on the very left lane waiting for the light to turn green. Finally my friend picks up the phone and hearing her voice helps

[00:44:57] alleviate some of my panic. My eyes were trying to focus on both the car and where I was stepping as I ran. I needed to be careful of course and then the light turned green. The car began to

[00:45:09] move and yes did a fourth u-turn. I'm trying my hardest to explain the situation to my best friend with breathless panicky words when I see the man pass by me again with those eyes and that grin that

[00:45:22] sends chills down my spine every time I think about it. Luckily I was nearing the intersection and I could already see my gym about 400 meters away. My best friend kept telling me to breathe

[00:45:34] and trying to calm me down. She knew I couldn't get anxious then. I needed to be safe first. 200 more meters. I'm searching around to see if I can spot that car again. I only hear my ragged breath,

[00:45:46] my heart and my friend's voice trying to soothe me. Every car that passes me makes me flinch. I was too jumpy, too panicked by the whole ordeal. Nothing like this had ever happened to me before. 50 more

[00:46:01] meters. I'm so close that the last burst of adrenaline makes me run even faster. I finally reach the building and climb up the steps to the second floor where the gym is, then burst through

[00:46:13] those doors. Finally I made it. I was safe. My body begins to relax as soon as I entered into the familiar comforting space. My adrenaline was crashing fast leaving more room for anxiety to

[00:46:27] settle in. I tell my friend goodbye since I wanted to tell my coach about the whole situation and quickly hung up the phone. Before I could find my coach however, I fell into a full-blown panic

[00:46:38] attack. I started to hyperventilate. My body was shaking so badly that I collapsed into a ball on the floor and sobbed uncontrollably not caring that everyone was watching me. All I could do

[00:46:51] was try to reassure myself that I was now safe and that everything would be all right. But I am never going down that road alone ever again. This is not my story but my father's. I might be breaking

[00:47:15] the rules with that but I thought I'd give it a go here. This happened in the summer of 1993. My dad and his girlfriend, who is now my stepmother, were living in Cardiff, Wells in the city center.

[00:47:28] It's not a particularly high crime area and there are a lot of student accommodations. I won't give the exact location but there was a cafe nearby named the Warm as Toast Cafe,

[00:47:41] amusingly abbreviated on the front as TWAT. This is irrelevant to the story but I had to mention it. 6 a.m my dad gets up and walks down to the kitchen to get his morning coffee. As he walks

[00:47:56] into the kitchen he is welcomed by a random man sat at the kitchen table staring at him. Being the cool collected guy he is, instead of freaking out my dad asks the guy if he wants a

[00:48:10] cup of coffee. Breakfast intruder agrees and joins him. A few minutes later my dad's girlfriend comes in, also doesn't freak out and offers to make him some breakfast. So the three of them sit down,

[00:48:26] have breakfast, and have a chat for 20 minutes or so. Apparently the conversation was a bit weird and nonsensical but they didn't say what it was about. Breakfast finishes and they escort this stranger through to the front door. After he leaves they start freaking out and naturally

[00:48:46] call the police. Police come, take statements, etc. and later in the day they're contacted by the police saying that they apprehended the man. Turns out the guy was a paranoid schizophrenic and was breaking into the odd-numbered houses on the street. My dad was the second house he'd

[00:49:06] entered. The first, which was next door, he'd gone into was empty. This was where he left his tools, a sawed-off shotgun, and a lot of ammo. His plan was to shoot anyone in the odd-numbered houses

[00:49:23] on the street. When the police arrested him he told them that my dad and his girlfriend were the nicest couple he had ever met and that had stopped him from carrying out his plan.

[00:49:36] And when people say I'm too laid back for my own good, I tell them this story and it never fails to shut them up. Thanks for listening. Truth be told, this was an unscheduled Lost Stories

[00:49:54] presentation. I had some unexpected medical emergencies that just kind of stole the entire week. I don't know where it went but luckily I had this special episode ready to go. Thanks for your patience and understanding. Patrons, make sure you stick around after the music for your

[00:50:07] extended version of this week's episode with some bonus content. If you'd like to get access to an ad-free experience with access to hours of bonus content yourself, head over to patreon.com forward

[00:50:18] slash let's not meet podcast to sign up and support the show today. This week you have heard Granddaddy's Princess by The Hailstorm. Creepy Orthodontist by Kyla Blith One. The time I was almost somebody's gang initiation by Poopshoes53. Thank you for not murdering my family by

[00:50:39] Angie LeBoss. There's a crazy clown in the house by Swillfish. New Year's creep by 45 minutes of road. Don't jog alone by Jar full of painkillers and finally The Breakfast Intruder by 10019245. All of the stories you've heard this week were narrated and produced with the permission of

[00:51:01] their respective authors. Let's not meet a true horror podcast is not associated with Reddit or any other message boards online. If you have a story to share, make sure you send it to let's

[00:51:09] not meet stories at gmail.com. Make sure you also check out the new episodes of my other podcasts like odd trails my true paranormal podcast as well as welcome to paradise it sucks and the old

[00:51:20] time radio cast over at cryptic county podcasts.com or wherever you get your podcasts. We'll see you next week for another scheduled special episode of let's not meet we'll be doing the best of season

[00:51:32] one part two it's going to be a very big extended episode. Some of our favorite stories. We'll see you then everyone please stay safe. Transcribed by https://otter.ai