u/OCDeeznuts1984

This story happened a few years ago while I was visiting Chicago during a work conference. Me (F) and my coworker (also F) were staying together in a hotel room for safety and knew each other pretty well.

We had a staff meal out with my female coworker, myself, and our male supervisor. When we were done eating, he asked us if we wanted him to walk us to our car, which was parked a couple blocks away. At this point it was still light out. We declined, because we wanted to stay and chat with some friends who were nearby (members at the conference).

By the time we finally left the restaurant, it was well dark out. I have no idea what part of Chicago we were in, since I'm not from there. We were probably a group of about 5 girls. Myself and my coworker dropped walked everyone to their lodging and were the last ones left, so we headed to our car.

We made it safely one block. Across the street from us (~3 lines of traffic), a man was positioned underneath an awning. As soon as we passed him (again, parallel to each other), he began moving and crossed to our side of the street.

I tend to jump to conclusions, thinking I'm being stalked/followed etc, so I glanced behind my shoulder without making it too obvious that I was worried.

I had been on my feet all day, so at this point I also had removed my shoes. Think, you're a bridesmaid at a wedding. Except it's downtown Chicago. All I can say is, I lived at the beach so I'm just used to going barefoot everywhere.

I notified my coworker that this guy had crossed over. We kept going, but eventually he started speeding up until he was practically jogging toward us. We had also been picking up his pace, matching it. He followed us around every turn, corner, etc.

Once we saw our car in a now-empty lot, we booked it. But we had to make it across three lanes of one-way traffic. There were a ton of cars despite how late it was which essentially pinned us in as the guy is STILL running toward us.

We managed to catch a break in the traffic and run to the car without having to wait for the crosswalk. Once we were inside the car, my coworker sped off without even paying the parking ticket (had to do it online).

One of those situations where hindsight is 20/20. Probably should have walked all our friends to our car then driven everyone to their rooms, or gotten home way earlier.

At this time I was living in a pretty small rural town in the Midwest. Im pretty extroverted and quickly made friends, ending up with one best friend in particular. This girl was pregnant and her due date was about 6 months away.

We were inseparable. We got coffee, ate food, went on walks, and went to this small lake for swims. I helped her choose name ideas for her son, since she and her boyfriend were still deciding. She was a self proclaimed wine mom, so she really missed alcohol and it became a joke between us because I could still have it.

Her due date came up and she hadn’t gone into labor, just going to the hospital routinely. About week after her due date she went into the hospital, and she told me that she lost the baby. I was devastated. I received what I now know to be a “goodbye” text from her that was so eerie and confusing.

Long story short, after some pressing and investigating, I discovered that she had faked the pregnancy. She wore a fake stomach. She even bought wine and was completely toying with me.

To this day i still don’t know if I have processed this fully. And I don’t know if my friend ended up being a psychopath or just someone who was in a bad situation. I don’t wish her any harm and hope she’s okay, but it’s truly the craziest and scariest thing that has ever happened to me.

Is there a place to view my count?

Long time writer who wants to try my hand at the spooky side of fiction. I'm from Appalachia and have some ideas of my own (Mothman, etc.) but would love any thoughts or ideas, whether from folklore or lived experience. Feel free to recommend films/books that come to mind as well. Thank you!