My fathers mother played a clear favorite for one of my sisters over the rest of us. My mother kept telling her she had to stop it. This went on/off for years, as she was a missionary and we would always go see her the first weekend she was back in the states. Then when I was 8, all of us but my mother and that sister…

That IS helpful (respect). Also helpful is the “pick your battles” attitude, especially where free child care is concerned.

Just seconding Marylander531 in recommending “The Gift of Fear”. Your unconscious was picking up on so many alarm bells— I’m so glad you ultimately decided to listen. As a fellow clinician I get the stress of second guessing our uneasy feelings about certain clients and chalking them up to countertransference. . . but…

With the death of Eddie Van Halen and watching Cobra Kai, I’m recalling my youth with a weird mix of nostalgia and confusion, particularly the years 1986

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.

Little T & Mr. Conductor

I had a paper route. This was in the mid 1980’s. At the time I was a typical ten year old boy living in the suburbs of Cincinnati, Ohio. We lived in a two story house near the end of a cul-de-sac. My mom and dad and me. I’d taken over the paper route from a friend at the beginning of summer, thinking of earning some…

Got it. I’m just here to say that said I FIGURED he was schizophrenic, based on his paranoia, the way he described receiving shots as medication with is a common way to treat that illness, NOT that he for sure was schizophrenic and that I was officially diagnosing him in my capacity as a year one real estate agent. I…

“Oh that place’ll never rent...”

I thought about submitting this story last year, but truthfully, it felt too fresh in my mind. Even now, over a year later, I still feel a pit in my stomach when I think about it.

I’ve got one I call “Old Gray Thing” that I always forget to post. It was a paranormal encounter but I’m still not sure what exactly it was, and I’ve always been curious if anyone else has seen one too. I’m doxxing myself if anyone I know reads this, but here goes nothing...

Full disclosure / Trigger Warning: This post could be triggering for people who have experienced abuse.

If one of the requirements is that the story is true - why did you post the OBVIOUSLY fake masturbatory thrift store story from last year as an example?

Normal sounds can sound unnatural in the woods. (long)

So this story is not really scary but it was creepy when it happened and I hope it never happens again.

A lot of weird stuff has happened to me over the years, and I consider myself “sensitive,” despite also being an atheist. I tend to think that there are explanations for the supernatural but that we just don’t have the answers yet. It’s all energy, right? Anyway, here is one of the creepiest things that happened to me…

I post every year cause I’ve lived quite the haunted life. Last year I posted about phantom smells and wanted to do an update on that, briefly.

It’s 100% fake. Pretty bummed they led with that one on this year’s post. Still, I love these, and on balance the stories are great and believable (even though I have, unfortunately, come to the conclusion that ghosts aren’t real, as much as I want them to be).

The grim and patriarchal aspect of Westworld's narratives is still a bit annoying. The game seems to cater mostly to a straight male player who wants to shoot things and rape women, and there is very little woman characters, most of them being prostitutes, the rest being murder/rape victims. And that one and only…

Ray did try to avoid being mouth raped by Hannah. But on the other hand we have no indication that he's gotten any action since the last time he slept with Marnie, over a year earlier. So I think he can be forgiven for not fighting too hard.