Real life can occasionally be more terrifying than fiction. People describe extremely disturbing incidents that resemble scenes from a psychological thriller in a collection of true short stories. One parent related the horrifying story of a nanny who developed an obsession with her son and even referred to him as “MY son.” The family received a warning from another woman who disclosed that a year prior, the same nanny had attempted to take control of her own family.

In another unsettling story, workers discovered their boss had passed away the night before the scheduled early-morning video call. Oddly, the invitation to the meeting had been sent from his account after his death was reported. In another workplace mystery, even when no one was working on the fourth floor, the elevator would always stop. An investigation showed that someone had been manually opening the door with a deactivated ID badge.

The disturbing stories gained emotional depth from family secrets. One person found out that her mother had concealed the fact that the man she believed to be her father had passed away when she was a baby. Another discovered that she had a twin brother that her mother was unaware she had; he was given away at birth and was never mentioned again. These disclosures caused lingering uncertainty and unresolved issues.

Strange coincidences and memory lapses were described in other stories. On a school excursion that he never went on, a man saw a picture of someone who looked exactly like him. When he saw pictures of himself from a party he didn’t remember going to, another person was shocked.

These actual occurrences demonstrate how the most eerie fiction can be rivaled by the truth.