Near death experiences?

[Jester]

I nearly drown in Barcelona. Had to have some hulking life guard come save me.

Caught in a fire as a baby. My screaming woke up my mother who had cleverly left a candle lit above the TV and then fallen asleep... Jackass.

Been in a car accident with a bus. Scary stuff.

And i've confronted a serial killer. Well, it was a strange dark man in my house holding a knife so I assume he was a serial killer. And my confront I mean ran in the opposite direction screaming my lungs out like a girl. I was living in the country with my nan and granddad at the time. And I remember my granddad searching the house with an axe for hours. We rung the police but it would have taken them 40mins to get to us. Did I sleep that night? Nahhhhhhhh.

And for you guys?

[Ceb18]

Almost drowned once, scary shiz.

Almost choked on a cheesestick too, not even shitting you.

[Dean Winchester]

Uh, been thrown around by waves a couple of times -- y'know, when you're waddling out to sea and a sneaky bitch takes you by surprise, throws you around. Bit scary.

Also, my Ma sometimes delivers the local newspaper down a few roads nearby. Couple years back, I was giving her a hand and we decided we wanted to get it done early (quite a few houses to deliver to) so we went out at like 4AM. There was this one road, which joins on to the main road (which goes through town) and we were just finishing up; I was making the final delivery whilst she waited in the car. As I got in, she told me to roll down my window. Naturally, I looked out of it, and saw a man walking across the road towards the car. It was 4AM in the morning -- I wasn't going to roll down my window, but this guy was coming straight at us. It was dark, so I couldn't see his face, just his figure...but then he got closer.

Dudes.

That is something you don't forget. The face...of evil. I'm not even making this shit up, I assume he was on a buncha' different drugs 'cause he was nightmare-inducing. Won't forget that face. Anyway, I screamed for my Ma to drive, and luckily, she managed to speed away without hitch. We turned the car, accelerated. The guy actually chased us down the road. Chased the car! You ever been chased by a deformed guy down an empty street at 4AM? It's lovely...

Anyway, we got home. I had a bowl of Shreddies and went to bed.

[Dean Winchester]

Jan 7, 2012 18:06:52 GMT -5 Jester said:

And i've confronted a serial killer. Well, it was a strange dark man in my house holding a knife so I assume he was a serial killer. And my confront I mean ran in the opposite direction screaming my lungs out like a girl. I was living in the country with my nan and granddad at the time. And I remember my granddad searching the house with an axe for hours. We rung the police but it would have taken them 40mins to get to us. Did I sleep that night? Nahhhhhhhh.

And for you guys?

Holy cockroach stew -- that is genuinely terrifying. Tell us more :/
I wouldn't have been able to sleep again in that house. Did the police catch him/know who he was? How close was it to where I live...? Why are you not scarred for the rest of your life?

[Johno]

A guy a few houses down had a shotgun and chased his wife and daughter down the street. They hid out at a neighbor's house -- thank God they didn't come to my door, I would've peed myself. He holed himself up in his home, exchanging gunfire with the police. I could hear it through my bedroom window, it was so intense. And then he eventually committed suicide by cop. I guess I was never in any real danger, but the suspense was there. I could see it all from my house, so it was pretty close to home.

I choked on a meatball from my Spaghetti-O's as a child.

...And that's about it.

[Blake (HDLYR)]

^Damn these are some crazy stories.

I've had two combat tours being in the military - one Iraq and one Afghanistan - so I've had my share of small arms fire, rockets, mortars... more times than I can count actually. But in the end I never felt my life was truly in any immediate life-threatening danger or jeopardy... except for two very memorable occasions.

[Necktie]

I was in a car chase once. It was around midnight and I got lost, ended up going down a dirt road because my GPS told me to. It turned out to be a dead end at some trailer party. All the people looked like the cast from Hills Have Eyes. Hit reverse, got outta there, then saw a bunch of them jump in their trucks and start chasing me. Finally got to the main road (no one was around for miles though) and started zooming to get away from them. Called the police - they said they couldn't help. Hit speeds of about 120 MPH. They tried some devious trickery to run me off the road. Eventually hit a small town and they zoomed past me and away into the dark. Probably no real danger - they were just being asses - but it was pretty scary at the time.

Also, I almost accidentally flooded the house with carbon dioxide.

Also, fell down a long flight of stairs and got knocked out cold for awhile. No fun.

Also, hydroplaned once and spun out to the point that my car was facing the opposite direction of the road, barely missing a tracker trailer.

Also, fell out of a moving car once.

[Necktie]

Jan 8, 2012 0:07:35 GMT -5 Blake (HDLYR) said:

^Damn these are some crazy stories.

I've had two combat tours being in the military - one Iraq and one Afghanistan - so I've had my share of small arms fire, rockets, mortars... more times than I can count actually. But in the end I never felt my life was truly in any immediate life-threatening danger or jeopardy... except for two very memorable occasions.

With a teaser like that I got to know more.

[Jester]

Jan 7, 2012 20:04:35 GMT -5 Ceb18 said:

Almost drowned once, scary shiz.

Almost choked on a cheesestick too, not even shitting you.

Cheesestick- worse way to go. Where was you? I pictured you in a restaurant.

On that subject, anyone seen the film Choke? Sam Rockwell's character deliberately lets himself choke on a bit of food so a stranger in this restaurant can save him. Funny stuff, let me tell ya.

[Jester]

Jan 7, 2012 20:30:49 GMT -5 Dean Winchester said:

Uh, been thrown around by waves a couple of times -- y'know, when you're waddling out to sea and a sneaky bitch takes you by surprise, throws you around. Bit scary.

Also, my Ma sometimes delivers the local newspaper down a few roads nearby. Couple years back, I was giving her a hand and we decided we wanted to get it done early (quite a few houses to deliver to) so we went out at like 4AM. There was this one road, which joins on to the main road (which goes through town) and we were just finishing up; I was making the final delivery whilst she waited in the car. As I got in, she told me to roll down my window. Naturally, I looked out of it, and saw a man walking across the road towards the car. It was 4AM in the morning -- I wasn't going to roll down my window, but this guy was coming straight at us. It was dark, so I couldn't see his face, just his figure...but then he got closer.

Dudes.

That is something you don't forget. The face...of evil. I'm not even making this shit up, I assume he was on a buncha' different drugs 'cause he was nightmare-inducing. Won't forget that face. Anyway, I screamed for my Ma to drive, and luckily, she managed to speed away without hitch. We turned the car, accelerated. The guy actually chased us down the road. Chased the car! You ever been chased by a deformed guy down an empty street at 4AM? It's lovely...

Anyway, we got home. I had a bowl of Shreddies and went to bed.

Man, I know that fear. The guy I saw in my house, when I saw that face, it was one of pure hate and his eyes were so dead. Ugh fucking freaky. But that image still haunts me to this day, so I totally get where you're coming from.

How old was you?

[Jester]

Jan 7, 2012 20:45:05 GMT -5 Dean Winchester said:

Jan 7, 2012 18:06:52 GMT -5 Jester said:

And i've confronted a serial killer. Well, it was a strange dark man in my house holding a knife so I assume he was a serial killer. And my confront I mean ran in the opposite direction screaming my lungs out like a girl. I was living in the country with my nan and granddad at the time. And I remember my granddad searching the house with an axe for hours. We rung the police but it would have taken them 40mins to get to us. Did I sleep that night? Nahhhhhhhh.

And for you guys?

Holy cockroach stew -- that is genuinely terrifying. Tell us more :/
I wouldn't have been able to sleep again in that house. Did the police catch him/know who he was? How close was it to where I live...? Why are you not scarred for the rest of your life?

Right, well the full story is---

I was about 7 or 8 and I was living with my nan in the countryside. It was late at night and we had a few acres of land behind the house. So we're at the back of this massive garden, m, my nan, my granddad, and my uncle. A bonfire is raging. The house had just been built so we were burning some left over wood and crap.

Anyway, the sun sets, darkness falls and my nan gets cold. So she asked me to run into the house and get her jumper. So I trot off on the five minute journey back to the house.

Once I get in through the back double doors, I can't reach the light. It was too high for me (I was a small child) and usually I'd have to drag and chair to the light to reach it. But I knew where I was going in the house and didn't need the light turned on.

However, this is the middle of the country side. By dark, I mean it was really really fucking dark. I got out into the main hallway and outside we had this old Victorian lamp on the drive way. Very cool looking thing. Anyway, the light from the lamp was shining through a window illuminating the hallway.

So I have to cross this hallway to get to the bedroom. Minding my own business I skip along all merry like unlike I notice that the door is ajar and the light from the Victorian lamp is pouring in. I look up in confusion to see this man in a long coat and hat standing with his back to me, as if he is about to walk into the bedroom. Suddenly he must have heard me, because he turned. I just remember this growl on his face and the light bouncing off his dull blue eyes, and this glint in his hands shining brightly (I gathered it was a knife). So I sat myself, screamed like a little girl and ran.

Thing is, my legs felt weak. Literally like I was about to pass the fuck out. I was running so fast that my feet barely had time to touch the ground. It was fucking horrible. I ran all the way back to my nan and actually collapsed when I got to her. It took her about 5 minutes to calm me down so I could tell her what I'd seen. I was hysterical.

Then my Granddad and Uncle searched the house with axes. Found nothing, but did notice the front door was still open.

The police was called and all that. I don't really remember much from there on. I know I had to talk to this old guy about what I'd seen and my nan was holding my hand the entire way through it.

But one thing I do remember clearly is that summer there'd been a few houses in the area that had been broken into. All owned by little old ladies who had been killed. So I naturally put two and two together lol.

Couldn't sleep at all for months after that. We ended up moving which sucks considering my nan and granddad had the house built especially for them to retire into.

However, as freaky as it was, that memory has actually inspired me. Daz will remember my Chronicles of a Killer films which were basically inspired by that memory. I kinda had an obsession with serial killers for many years after. My nan used to collect crime files and shit so as a young teenager I used to sit there reading through them.

Also, The Long Coats was quite literally inspired by the man in the long coat. So there ya go

[Jester]

Jan 8, 2012 0:07:35 GMT -5 Blake (HDLYR) said:

^Damn these are some crazy stories.

I've had two combat tours being in the military - one Iraq and one Afghanistan - so I've had my share of small arms fire, rockets, mortars... more times than I can count actually. But in the end I never felt my life was truly in any immediate life-threatening danger or jeopardy... except for two very memorable occasions.

Good god, you brave man. We're going on about choking on food, and coming across strange men in your house, and you've actually been on the front line.

I feel a bit stupid now haha.

You wanna tell us more about the two memorable occasions?

[Nick]

I was near ground zero on 9/11 when the planes hit.

[Jester]

Jan 8, 2012 9:55:12 GMT -5 Nick said:

I was near ground zero on 9/11 when the planes hit.

Jesus, that's terrible. I actually visited the site a few years back. Even though there are main roads all around, it was practically silent. No one spoke. Very moving.

Did you get caught up in all the rubble and smoke?

[Blake (HDLYR)]

Jan 8, 2012 7:37:45 GMT -5 Jester said:

Jan 8, 2012 0:07:35 GMT -5 Blake (HDLYR) said:

^Damn these are some crazy stories.

I've had two combat tours being in the military - one Iraq and one Afghanistan - so I've had my share of small arms fire, rockets, mortars... more times than I can count actually. But in the end I never felt my life was truly in any immediate life-threatening danger or jeopardy... except for two very memorable occasions.

Good god, you brave man. We're going on about choking on food, and coming across strange men in your house, and you've actually been on the front line.

I feel a bit stupid now haha.

You wanna tell us more about the two memorable occasions?

A lot of people think rockets are scary as shit - and they are, I mean, they're more destructive and unpredictable. But most of the time it's just someone shooting blindly and hoping they hit you, or hoping the shrapnel hits you. They probably can't see you - they're just standing far away, they see your vehicle or they see your base in the distance and they're hoping they can hit you from afar. I've been in countless RPG/mortar attacks like that.

But what I find scary is small arms fire - when someone literally has you in their sights and they're pulling the trigger with full intention of killing YOU. Like they can see you, a human being, and they're not just aiming for a truck or an installation. And that's happened twice with me, once in Iraq and once in Afghanistan.

[Jester]

Jan 8, 2012 17:56:13 GMT -5 Blake (HDLYR) said:

Jan 8, 2012 7:37:45 GMT -5 Jester said:

Good god, you brave man. We're going on about choking on food, and coming across strange men in your house, and you've actually been on the front line.

I feel a bit stupid now haha.

You wanna tell us more about the two memorable occasions?

A lot of people think rockets are scary as shit - and they are, I mean, they're more destructive and unpredictable. But most of the time it's just someone shooting blindly and hoping they hit you, or hoping the shrapnel hits you. They probably can't see you - they're just standing far away, they see your vehicle or they see your base in the distance and they're hoping they can hit you from afar. I've been in countless RPG/mortar attacks like that.

But what I find scary is small arms fire - when someone literally has you in their sights and they're pulling the trigger with full intention of killing YOU. Like they can see you, a human being, and they're not just aiming for a truck or an installation. And that's happened twice with me, once in Iraq and once in Afghanistan.

Holy fucking shit.

Did you... did you ever shoot anyone? Kill anyone?

[Blake (HDLYR)]

Jan 8, 2012 18:03:26 GMT -5 Jester said:

Jan 8, 2012 17:56:13 GMT -5 Blake (HDLYR) said:

A lot of people think rockets are scary as shit - and they are, I mean, they're more destructive and unpredictable. But most of the time it's just someone shooting blindly and hoping they hit you, or hoping the shrapnel hits you. They probably can't see you - they're just standing far away, they see your vehicle or they see your base in the distance and they're hoping they can hit you from afar. I've been in countless RPG/mortar attacks like that.

But what I find scary is small arms fire - when someone literally has you in their sights and they're pulling the trigger with full intention of killing YOU. Like they can see you, a human being, and they're not just aiming for a truck or an installation. And that's happened twice with me, once in Iraq and once in Afghanistan.

Holy fucking shit.

Did you... did you ever shoot anyone? Kill anyone?

No to both those questions. Very glad too. That can't be a fun experience for anyone. I consider myself lucky.

[Necktie]

Jan 8, 2012 18:32:49 GMT -5 Blake (HDLYR) said:

Jan 8, 2012 18:03:26 GMT -5 Jester said:

Holy fucking shit.

Did you... did you ever shoot anyone? Kill anyone?

No to both those questions. Very glad too. That can't be a fun experience for anyone. I consider myself lucky.

I have a ton of respect for you, Blake.

[Johno]

Jan 8, 2012 20:19:36 GMT -5 Necktie said:

Jan 8, 2012 18:32:49 GMT -5 Blake (HDLYR) said:

No to both those questions. Very glad too. That can't be a fun experience for anyone. I consider myself lucky.

I have a ton of respect for you, Blake.

Agreed completely!

[Blake (HDLYR)]

Thanks guys. Really, nothing special on my part. I truly do feel like I breezed through two deployments when compared to so many other troops who had it far worse.

Jan 8, 2012 9:55:12 GMT -5 Nick said:

I was near ground zero on 9/11 when the planes hit.

Holy...

How close?