The woods are spooky, dark, and deep, so keep a wary eye out for the creepy, unexpected things you may perchance to stumble across during your explorations! Will you encounter a terrifying monster? Step into a forgotten graveyard? Uncover a bone altar? The weird possibilities are pretty endless in the vast wilderness, and you never know just what you may find (…or what may find you). Check out 16 MORE Scary Things People Experienced in the Woods and tread carefully.

Grab your Reese’s peanut butter cups and dig in to these bite-sized scary stories for Halloween - welcome to our 3rd edition of The Scariest 4-Word Stories Written by The Confessionals Podcast Fans! For the third year in a row, we’ve selected our top 15 favorite creepy and quirky stories to entertain you this October 31st. Read on to start getting spooky with our 2022 tales, and keep the creepy going by taking a look back at our 1st and 2nd editions of the scariest 4-word stories!

The following written confession was shared on Distractify by nasty-otter: When I was 16, my grandparents hired me to house sit for three weeks at their farm house in a small town. It was the second to last night of my stay and all had gone well for a 16 year old completely alone in a big empty house for three weeks. It was about 1 a.m. and it started to thunderstorm outside, so I decided to turn everything off and go to bed. I was upstairs in the front bedroom that overlooks their driveway, using the toilet when I heard a loud noise outside….

The following written confession was shared via Reddit by deep-and-hidden-wv: I used to live in a trailer park in WV off a notorious road known for its haunting encounters. It even has it's own website dedicated to letting the people tell stories of their experiences. But this was before I even knew that the website existed. So this was not long after I had my fourth child….

The following written confession was shared via Reddit by throwawayfarmers: ‘Long post, but please read. I seriously need help and am terrified out of my mind. So I’ll start off by saying I’ve never believed in anything paranormal. I’m a pretty science-based dude. I always look for a logical explanation, and I still am for this encounter. So if anyone has any ideas let me know….’

The following written confession was shared via Reddit by alexsangthat: So I don’t really know how to explain this or if it even fits on this sub or even what actually happened if I’m being honest, but regardless I will try to relay the story. I was driving to work yesterday morning and I’m coming up a side street that connects to a very busy road in my area. It’s the main road that stretches through like 20 towns. I get to the red light at this main road and sit there for about 15 seconds before seeing a car pull up behind me. As the car comes to a complete stop behind me, my eyes drift from the rearview mirror to the stop light in front of me….

It’s the holiday edition of Creature Feature Friday, featuring the merry and bright KRAMPUS! Hailing from Germanic and Austrian folklore, Krampus is a half-man, half-goat demon with a penchant for punishment. While St. Nick brings the gifts to good girls and boys, Krampus brings the pain and damnation to the naughty ones. Who wouldn’t want that guy at their holiday party?!

Happy Halloween! Last week we asked our listeners on social media to tell us their very best 4-word scary stories, and we’ve carefully curated a few of our favorite responses to share on this spooky day. Some scared us, some mystified us, and some just made us laugh (maybe to keep from crying at the sheer horror). For a quick scare from these micro ghost tales, check out the top 15 scary 4-word stories below!

The following written confession was submitted via email, describing a dream from several years ago about a creature exactly like the scary mystery demon someone else witnessed, in real life, in Episode 152: The Gargoyle. “I’ve been listening for a few months and the creature described in this episode matched the one of something I saw in a dream a few years back, including the ungodly scream. . . “

Bonus Episode 127: The Rake features an interview with Guy, who describes a rare, chance sighting of two creepy rake creatures near Dallas, Texas. (You can also watch the interview on video by clicking here.) If you aren’t familiar with what a RAKE purportedly is - or if you feel the need to be terrified today - check out the video below to watch a compilation of alleged rakes caught on camera!

Just what is it about woods and forests that makes them so beautiful and so eerie at the same time? When most people take a scenic hike through the woods, they don’t typically expect to come face to face with a shapeshifting, teleporting old witch in a cloak. But that’s exactly what our guest on Episode 125: The Shapeshifting Witch encountered while hiking around the isolated area of Dismal Falls in Transylvania County, North Carolina.

So back in 2013, I lived in Kent, WA, a suburb of Seattle. I lived there with my two high school buddies (M & R) from UT and they were getting ready to move back home while I was planning to move into another apartment in the area. R and I had always been into paranormal activities, including exploring houses which were formerly scenes of horrific incidents or doing ouija boards in known haunted areas. M had grown up Mormon, and although he is no longer, "f***ing with the devil" as he called it, was still out of his fun time wheelhouse.

History is marred by countless accounts of murderers who committed heinous acts and gruesome killings. Arguably some of the darkest crimes were the work of repeating offenders - serial killers who left their stain on the world over and over again with each horrifying act. Some of these criminals were caught and tried for their crimes, while others remained anonymous and at large. Among them all, there also seems to be a number of killers who continue their reign of terror, even after their own deaths.

New York City is home to many famous places: Broadway. Times Square. Central Park. The Statue of Liberty. The Empire State Building. Wherever you are in the world, you've probably heard of these big-name attractions, located only in The Big Apple.

The following written confession was shared via The Confessionals Facebook page: I had been on my guard since the last visit. It was the first time I felt threatened/scared. At this time I was not very well versed with the finer points of hauntings or how to deal with them. It was a week night so it was off to bed early because I am a natural early riser. I was awakened around midnight by a horrible nightmare that left me and the sheets soaking wet….