I couldn’t find where the cut off date was so fingers crossed I’m not too late! CW for suicide, harm to animals, and mention of CSA.

This is an old story, my grandfather’s story, about a hundred years old. It’s a very short one, but it’s all about the power of love.

I bought a really dilapidated, foreclosed farmhouse-turned Duplex in Salt Lake City right out of college in 2009. It immediately required a ton of work before my boyfriend and I could even move in. The vibes were creepy and anyone who entered the house knew it. In those first days we would stay up late painting and…

Nobody will read this because I’m way past the deadline and probably on the greys, but whatevs.

This happened when I was living in Chicago in 2015 in a three floor walk up apartment building. Only 3 units that shared the stairwell - mine being the middle. One night I was in a hurry to meet friends for a night out. Around 4am, my boyfriend and I came home very drunk to my apartment door wide open. We went through…

This isn’t my own story, but my dad’s - and my dad isn’t a liar. He’s experienced a lot of wild things taking odd jobs out on the road throughout his twenties, but this story happened right in my Indiana hometown when my mom was pregnant with my older sister. We lived in the country, and there was a hairpin turn on…

Hi fellow Jezebel lovers! These stories are something that I look forward to every year, I even used to use my breaks just to devour these stories throughout the years. However, to express gratitude for this space, I also wanted to share what it’s meant to me especially in the last year, because it went beyond just…

Another one that proves truth is scarier than fiction...

I shared this too late for last year’s contest, so I’m trying again. This isn’t my own story. It’s my late grandmother’s tale, and I remember her telling it to me only once when I was a child.

“December 1941"

Warning – Domestic Violence

(Late submission last year, cleaned up a bit. I apologize if it falls into the “long” category, but no effusive descriptions I promise):

I’ve crossed past with serial killers 3 times in my life. All are horrific and one was even turned into a made for TV movie. Of the three, this story is the most frightening.

This one is a bit grim, but it’s the very true story of the time I crossed paths with a murderer and his accomplice who were on the run.

When I was 12, I briefly hung out with a group of girls who were more “mature” than I was—which is to say, they liked boys and makeup, and I was more of a play-with-my-American-Girl-dolls type of tween. One summer day we decided to dress up and walk around our town, which was basically an attention-getting exercise.…

Not sure if anyone will see this, but here’s something that happened to me about five months ago—two things, actually, separated by about three weeks. The first part is magical and strange, the second part is terrifying. I live in India and these two events took place during our second hard lockdown back in May. We…

Over twenty years ago, my then-boyfriend and I booked a 3 week trip to South Africa. His childhood best friend was marrying a South African girl, and we would fly into Johannesburg to attend their wedding and then rent a car to travel around the country.

I’ve experienced many a spooky thing in my life but this one hands down is my favorite. I used to live in an apartment building that was originally a doctors house from about 1900. My sensitive friends and I took the time to identify the different ghosts we felt around the house there was a little girl and everyone…

I have this story because I like true crime podcasts.

(Trigger warning for self harm)