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Disturbed: True Horror Stories · Evergreen Podcasts

Disturbed: True Horror #243

·28 min·2 clips
A man grabs a woman by her belt loops and yanks her toward a bathroom during their first date.
This episode of Disturbed presents four narrated true horror stories submitted by Reddit users. Host Doug Bailey introduces tales of unsettling encounters that escalate into fear. The narrators are Christine Lachance, Akeem Balaam, Oscar Bazan, and Liz Kellerman. The first story details a woman's 2018 first date with a man named Jack, which turns violent at a public park. A hiker's solo trek becomes terrifying after repeated encounters with a grinning, staring stranger on a remote trail. Two 19-year-old men at a Walmart parking lot face a distressed woman who forcefully enters their car, demanding a ride to a windowless white van. Two girls biking home at 3 a.m. follow a red car and a fleeing girl into a forest, leading to a confusing police response. A key insight is the narrators' emphasis on the rapid shift from normalcy to danger, with the date noting how Jack's demeanor changed "in the blink of an eye." The hiker describes a profound, instinctual fear, stating he could "just sense" something was wrong with the stranger. The Walmart story hinges on a chilling verbal slip when the woman says "our van" instead of "my van." The final story leaves unresolved questions about potential trafficking bait and inconsistencies in the police account. The episode maintains a tense, narrative style, with each story presented as a firsthand account. The tone is suspenseful and immersive, focusing on building dread through descriptive details of the settings and the narrators' internal panic. Listeners who enjoy firsthand, anecdotal horror stories about creepy encounters and near-misses will find this episode gripping. Those who prefer resolved narratives or supernatural horror might find the ambiguous, real-life conclusions less satisfying.

As heard by us

A quiet trail, a watchful stranger, and a dread that stays close to the ground.

Disturbed: True Horror #243 leans on a plain fear that works: a hiker alone on a quiet trail, then a man who keeps staring, says very little, and leaves the walker feeling watched.

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Why you'd press play

A small-town hike goes wrong fast when a lone trail turns into a staring contest with someone sinister.

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