Paranormal or explainable.
Waking up to Trump’s day-one anti trans EO calling me an “anti American Ideology” and waging war on trans people. My partner and I made the decision then and there to escape.
Close second is choking on a piece of baked potato while home alone as a kid
Not affecting me, came back from a trip to find my friend nearly comatose on my couch. She had been watching the apartment. Her blood sugar was over 1000.
8 way skydive. Two friends were getting married and they wanted to do a formation skydive as part of their wedding ceremony. They were going to get married, then 8 of us would get into the plane and do an 8 way formation dive. Land and eat cake.
The problem was they were both low time jumpers, with about 70 jumps each. The other 6 jumpers were all highly experienced, so we tried to make it work. The jump in question was a practice jump about a month before the wedding.
The bride fell out of the formation and went low. Meaning she was below everyone else and was continuing to get even lower. People in a formation will fall more slowly than an individual.
The formation of 7 other jumpers gets to about 5000ft and she is about 500ft below us and just sitting there. She is making no moves to track out and it is becoming a very dangerous situation. Then she starts waving off, which is what you’re supposed to do right before deploying your parachute. We all see it, break the formation turn and burn. The jumper to my right videoed the whole thing. By happenstance I was the closest to her. The video shows me in a full track when she and her deploying main parachute come into frame. I might have missed her by about 20ft. Later she told me I sounded like a jet airplane passing by.
Everyone needed a change of underwear after that jump. I grounded her except for coached jumps, which I took on myself. I did about 15 jumps with her over the next month with increasing number of people until it clicked with her on how formation skydiving actually works.
We did not get to do the jump the day of the wedding unfortunately. Just after the nuptials were completed and we were to head to the airplane an intense thunderstorm blew in grounding the planes. We still held the reception in the hanger though and it was a good time. We did the wedding jump a couple of weeks later and sent the video to all the wedding guests.
But yeah, it was pretty fucking scary.
Either when my first baby fell out of bed followed by a big clonk, or when I tried to get someone out of a car in flames.
My eldest is fine, that guy didn’t make it and I will never forget the smell.
What’s a clonk?
Also, kudos for at least trying to get the person out. Shame it ended the way it did, but you at least did what you could.
The sound of a baby or toddler’s head against a wooden surface that would make me shudder.
Honestly, I didn’t know what to do. We saw this car with big puffs of thick dark smoke coming out of it by the road, we stopped and I went for the extinguisher in my trunk, tried to operate it (I was clueless). But when I reached the other car, in seconds just burst into flames on the inside and saw the driver burning so I went to open the handle and it was like trying to lift a frying pan out of an open fire (got a nasty burn for a while).
I felt powerless, useless, I could see the scene by just closing my eyes for months, remembering the sound of it and definitely the worst part was the smell. I often wonder what I should have done differently that could have helped that person (breaking the glass with the extinguisher, carrying and using a window breaking tool, forgetting about the extinguisher at all and just bolting straight to the car to take him out of it…)
The scenario will repeat at nauseam in my head every time I drive and see a stopped car or look at an extinguisher or someone mentions a fire or an accident.
Note: this happened a long ago with an old car, maybe cars nowadays aren’t as flammable.
What’s weird is how everyone reacts differently. Someone talked about spinning out in a car; once, my girlfriend was driving, in the winter, and we tried to pass someone on the freeway, going near freeway speeds. The roads were icy, and we spun around multiple times, and ended up coming to a stop on the other side of the freeway facing oncoming traffic. Throughout the entire episode, I remember only thinking, “Ok, this is happening.” I wasn’t afraid, my heart rate was normal, I was completely calm. I think I may have put my hand on the dashboard, as if that’d do anything. I think, for me, it was the utter inability to do anything about the situation that made me calm. I’ve lost control on ice while I’ve been driving, and that’s nerve-wracking. But that one time was the worst, and yet I had no fear. It’s really strange, isn’t it?
So, my answer is being up on the town hall tower in Rothenburg, Germany.
I know I’m acrophobic, but not pathologically, but I figured I’d be a little scared and that would be it, and I wanted to do it. So we climb about 800 floors of stairs and crawl through this little submarine-like hatch onto a mayor walkway around the tower literally wide enough for one person, as long as they’re not too fat. The railing is a metal bar about waist-high, and I am not joking, you didn’t have enough room to turn around. So you shuffle around the entire spire - there’s just a column behind you - until you make the circuit and can climb back in the man-hole. It was not great; I was already anxious, except that after I got out, people just kept coming out of the hole. It was literally impossible to go back - you had to make the circuit, and there were people on both sides of you. You shuffled as fast as everyone else was, which was slow, because you’d stop when someone would finish and climb back in the hole.
I was about three people out of the hole, and thinking about the warning sign about the walkway being rated for only 4 people at a time, and how by my count there were at least a dozen, and I panicked. It was one of two or three times in my life when I felt like my brain had run off and was doing its own thing, and I had no control. I didn’t make a scene, but internally, I was completely terrified, and probably wouldn’t have been able to move if I hadn’t been part of a press of people on both sides inexorably shifting around the walkway. I don’t think that utter loss of any rational control can be adequately described unless you’ve experienced it.
The view was, apparently, beautiful, but I have no memory of it; all I remember is that it took 6 hours and all I could think of the entire time was getting back inside.
I can relate with your story as a fellow acrophobic (relatively mild…), and it reminded me of a similar but very different situation I lived.
I was on a holiday with friends, we were planning to do some canyoning. I scouted the path beforehand just not to get stuck, and everywhere I read that there are always alternative paths to jumps. The day before we make a hike, 700m of climb over 5km, steep as hell and in the evening my legs were butter (not sure if the same is for you, but the more I don’t feel my body in control, the more fear takes over).
Next day, we go canyoning and I could legit barely walk. I start the course already thirsty, and after almost 1h we were barely halfway. Having to climb and jump (small stuff) made me sweaty AF, I was completely dehidrated. At some point we reach a place and I clearly realize there is no way back. I am the last one of the group, tired and thirsty as fuck, we are all tied on a rope, and we are on top of a big boulder. There are 2 ways down: jump 10m or go down with the rope.
I have spent close to 10min on top talking to the guide, asking completely moronic questions, and I have 8 of them on video because my friend was just before me and filmed.
I ended up jumping, I figured that with the energy I had left, I would rather do something that takes 2s rather that rope myself down. I probably managed to do that just because I was that dehydrated and almost in a delirious state. I remember looking down the water and just the memory makes me dizzy. But the feeling of not having an option B (or C) is what really gets you, this is why I could relate with your story even though this is a completely different situation.
Fun fact, I ended up being the only one in my group to jump 10 meters, and now the memory is a mixed bag of emotions, but I will always have brag rights with my friends.
Edit: I added a picture of the jump as seen from top. It’s a screenshot from the infamous video.
The view from below maybe is more realistic…
That’s an awesome story. The call of the void is certainly a thing, but having no control of what triggers the terror, for me at least.
That’s a long jump! Did you get your water, in the end?
It was! Yes, back to the base camp I think I have drank almost a liter in one go! That tap was the most delicious thing in my life!
Hydroplaning on a motorcycle
Just ever so slightly losing grip on wet tarmac while taking a bend a little bit too fast and in your head you’re chanting “Lean, don’t break! Lean, don’t break!” to yourself…
Please tell me you’re not still riding one of those death machines.
Not currently. I’d have one again under the right circumstances.
I’ve personally known two people that have died in motorcycle accidents. These were dudes that were pretty safely oriented. Like wore all the gear all the time, rain or shine.
One of them took a spill and his bike pushed his femur through his hip and partly into his torso. He surprisingly lived through that accident. After he recovered he went back to riding as if nothing happened. He was fine for 7 years until he got involved in another accident and didn’t get lucky a second time.
If you have people that even remotely depend on you please just think carefully if it’s worth the risk. You’re actually about 4000% more likely to die on a motorcycle per mile traveled compared to a regular car. I’m not making that number up.
https://www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.gov/files/810887.pdf
There’s a very good reason ER docs call them “donorcycles”
I learned to ride and loved it. After 2 years of getting a different perspective on how people drive in cars, I’ll never do it again. It’s insane what people think they can do while also operating a 1 ton hunk of metal flying down the highway at 70 mph. Cars should really not be the default form of transportation for most people.
I’ll die on the hill that driving would be so much safer if everyone had to pass in a manual transmission. That would eliminate so many people who have no business driving from doing so. There are too many people on the road who have no business driving a car.
Sadly, not true. Most people in South Africa still drive manual cars because they’re cheaper. The drivers aren’t any better. Anyone can learn to drive a manual, it just takes a little longer.
Personally, I suspect that automatic cars are safer because there is less the driver can do wrong in an emergency.
Now.
When I woke up blind from surgery. Years ago I had FFS. Mine involved significant reshaping of the brow bone among other things. And like any surgery, beforehand the surgeon makes sure you’re aware of the potential risks and complications. The rate of complications is low, but the risk isn’t zero. If you’re doing substantial work on your face, that can result in nerve damage, loss of feeling, loss of facial motor control, etc. The vast majority of people turn out just fine, but the risks are not zero and are always on your mind. Oh, and I did this in Buenos Aires cause I was a broke-ass 24 year-old not so long out of college. So add that to the fear of potential complications. I wasn’t just getting major surgery. I was getting discount major surgery.
So I go in for surgery. Put the gown on, lay on the hospital cart, the whole nine yards. They give me the gas and I quickly go off to nowhere. Several hours later, I slowly regained consciousness, the surgery complete. And to my horror, I saw…nothing. Absolute darkness. Nothing at all. Pitch blackness. I command my eyes to open, but still nothing. Absolute inky blackness. I’m still hopped up on pain killers, but I’m quickly jolted to heightened awareness. I was aware of the risk of potential loss of feeling, but this? Blinded? Complete blindness in both eyes? I was in complete panic. Absolute terror.
Thankfully however this state did not last too long. A nurse realized what was wrong and helped me out. My eyes or ocular nerves hadn’t somehow been damaged. My eyes were swollen shut. They were able to rinse out my eyes and help me to open them a bit, and it was clear that I would see just fine.
Ultimately, I didn’t have any nerve damage and made a complete recovery. But that moment remains one of the most terrifying I have ever experienced. Alone in foreign country, thousands of miles from home, and I woke blind.
I felt my blood pressure spiking from just reading this. I’m glad you were okay!
The cops had a shoot out with my neighbor in the apartment next to mine. I wasn’t positive it was gunfire, and I walked into my living room to get a better assessment. I was about a foot away from whizzing bullets, but I still wasn’t 100% sure lol. I decided to not risk it and take cover on the floor of my bathroom, until about 20 minutes later when the cops busted my door down and kicked me out of my apartment for 2 days. When I came back, I had 17 bullet holes in my wall (all from the cops) and my fridge and cabinets were all shot to hell. I definitely almost died that day
That’s insane! Did anyone pay for your damages?
Within a few days, someone had let themselves into the apartment and patched the holes and replaced the fridge.
It was a really strange situation. The cops kicked in our door, pointed guns at us, and screamed at us to get out of the apartment. My girlfriend had the foresight to grab her purse on the way out, but I didn’t have my wallet or shoes.
They escorted us out of the complex, and I realized they weren’t going to let us back in after a short while. I asked a cop for some info, and he told me we weren’t allowed back in, and he couldn’t give a timeline, but to watch the news if I wanted an update. I asked him where I should watch the news, and he told me to get out of his face lmao
We made arrangements to hang out at a friend’s place for a few hours, and when we checked back on the complex, they had blocked off the whole street. We couldn’t approach anyone without them getting super aggressive and telling us we couldn’t be there.
We stayed the night at a different friend’s place, and tried to go home again around noon the next day. Our door was wide open, our cat was missing, our shit was tossed around, and there were a couple of evidence markers strewn about. After a bit, someone told us that they were still collecting evidence and cleaning up, and that we had to leave for a few hours.
That was the only sort of official conversation we ended up having with anyone about the whole ordeal. We were never contacted by the cops or the apartment management about it directly, but a week later we found out everyone in the complex got 4 days taken off their rent for that month. Cool, I guess.
Was your cat okay?
Yeah, thanks for asking. We found him deeply burrowed in a box of Christmas decorations in the back of our closet. He was traumatized, but he was safe
Holy crap what country do you live in? /s
7.7 magnitude earthquake from the 33rd floor. It happened 2 weeks ago. I will never go in a tall building again.
“I’ll never put on a life jacket again.”
When a car ran over the person who walked right next to me.
For about three weeks I was having bad thoughts going round and round in my head all day long, and I was barely able to do my work.
Damn. Of course, you were traumatized. You doing better now ?
Thats crazy. I’ve seen auto accidens but just in passing and heard pedestrian ones are in particular quite scary.
Heartbeat stopping in the night. Luckily, the heart has mechanisms to restart itself, and the last one finally kicked in. According to the doc, this only took five to ten seconds, but it felt longer than the complete last class on a Friday afternoon.
Roughly how old were you and were you awake when it happened or did you wake up because of it?
Somewhere in my mid-twenties. I probably woke up before when my circulation went down. This had happened a few times before, with one occasion where I measured 26BPM with the blood pressure meter.
Luckily, they found that the medication I had to take back then was the issue, and switched me to another one, which I take for 30+ years now without issues.
Ballistic missile hit less than 50 meters from me.
I’ll venture a wild guess that you live in Ukraine?
Yep.
Very currently scariest, the night before yesterday a neighbour almost got killed by her son. She’s in her 50s and he’s in his 30s, I woke up to half the apartment building being closed off and police everywhere. He had called SOS himself and told them he killed his mom, and they found him outside the building at 3am, he was covered in blood and barely there mentally. The entryway still had blood on the floor and the door to the apartment building is broken to shit. It’s still so recent that we haven’t heard anything more, she’s in hospital in critical but apparently stable condition.
I was at war.
The movie with Jet Li and Jason Statham? I get it.
Paragliding, I was literally on the last step from the clif, the next step would be off the cliff. Right as I took that last solid step, I got a collapse (meaning my wing folded, this basically turns it from a parachute to a shopping bag in the sense of keeping you from falling to the ground)
Luckly I noticed, took a few steps back and started going “what the fuck was that???” Sat down for 15 minutes while figuring out what I did wrong. After the 15 minutes I took off again, this time safely.
I’m pretty good at handling scary and dangerous situations so even though I was a literal step away from probably death, definitely life long disability, I can’t really say that I was extremely scared.
