Original subtitles

[Music]

I'd like to preface this by saying that

I live a pretty quote unquote straight

edge lifestyle so I'm certain that what

I saw and heard last New Year's Eve

wasn't the result of some hallucination

or drunken stuper but was 100% real I

live on the outskirts of your

stereotypical small southern town so a

few of my friends live out further into

The Boondocks that are only accessible

by those dark country back roads one of

my friends Darren lives with his family

in one of the Richer neighborhoods in

the area that can only be reached by

these back roads every year his family

throws a party at their house on New

Year's Eve where all the family's

friends are invited myself included it's

a pretty fun occasion so I'm always

excited when I get the formal invitation

from Darren's parents in the mail seeing

as the weather in the South can be

pretty weird when it comes to Winter it

didn't get really cold until a few days

before New Year's Eve I could remember

the newly frigid air paired with a bumpy

unkempt Country Roads made for an

uncomfortable ride to the house usually

I don't drive with my brights on since I

hate how other drivers always blind me

with theirs but the sheer darkness of

the windy narrow road needed a necessity

this time anyways the narrow road was

surrounded on both sides by dense tree

line so even with my brights it was hard

to see where exactly all the twists and

turns were ahead

notably there aren't any other houses

between the turnoff to the road and

Darren's neighborhood except for a lone

Shack that seemed like it had been

abandoned for years though I could

sometimes see lights on inside whenever

I passed this way a few minutes into the

drive on a particularly straight section

of the road my lights illuminated

something ahead amongst the trees

something White against the

darkness as I neared I could see it was

the shape of a person standing all alone

on the side of the road they weren't

moving or hiding just standing

completely still with their back to the

trees it was a woman evidently wearing a

white dress or gown of some sort not at

all appropriate for the cold I didn't

turn my brights off out of caution so I

couldn't really make out any specific

details in the reflective glare of the

white dress as I passed her I was

thanking my lucky stars that she didn't

step out in the middle of the road

causing me to stop but then I started to

wonder if maybe I should have stopped to

see if she needed some help perhaps she

was another guest trying to get to

Darren's party but it wasn't until I

looked back in my mirror to see in the

red glare of my rear lights that the

woman had turned her body to follow me

still frozen in that one

spot it was definitely creepy and in

that moment I was glad I'm not the

greatest example of a Good Samaritan no

way was that a fellow party guest I

arrived at the party without any further

incident around 8 p.m. parking in the

gravel Circle amongst the dozen or so

other cars outside Darren's house which

situated in a large clearing in the

surrounding Forest just like all the

other spaced ouses in the

neighborhood the festivities went on

until we had watched both the ball drop

in New York as well as our own time

zones clock striking 12th after which

everyone slowly started to clear out I

stayed behind a bit to help clean up as

I usually did since I was one of the

closer friends of Darren's family and by

the time I myself left my car was the

only one left at the front of the house

when I got in and started it up I got a

low tire pressure light my car is an

older model so it didn't give me exact

details as to which tire was low or how

many had the issue before I freaked out

I remembered that this sort of thing

always happens with my tires when the

weather first turned cold after a long

warm period I figured I'd be able to

make it home okay but before I drove off

I remembered that woman I had seen on my

way there was she still out there

somewhere had anyone else come across

her there was another way in the

opposite direction I could use to get

home to avoid that road but it would add

another 20 minutes or so to my commute

which I didn't want to do so late at

night and with possible drunk drivers

out and about I figured I'd just suck it

up and just go back the way I came I

really wish I didn't not even a few

minutes out on that same dark back road

I could feel something was different

with my tires I could hear it too it

sounded like bare metal scraping against

the road slowly my car came to a dead

stop I muttered

this was a different situation entirely

all that was going through my head was

did my tires fall off against my better

judgment I had to get out of the car to

see what was wrong stupidly I turned the

engine off and shut the door the car's

lights turned off automatically and I

was plunged into the deep darkness of

the surrounding forest with my phone

flashlight I scanned each of my

tires my heart sank as each and every

one of them had been ripped to shreds as

if they were torn apart by the claws of

some

animal I could have reasoned that if one

had a large puncture in it the bumpy

road could have caused even more damage

but all four tires this was

deliberate but no I thought could it

have been I stood around hopelessly no

one would be out at such an hour on this

road even on New Year's Eve I'd have to

call a towing service or for someone to

come and get me but of course there was

no phone service this deep into the

boies but just as I was about to get

back into the car The Gentle Wind died

down the baron tree branches stopped

swaying and even the wildlife that was

still out this time of year went

quiet I froze I had never heard such

silence before it was as if time had

stopped for a minute before I heard the

sickening sound of a twig snap somewhere

within the trees something was moving

around I instantly shut the light from

my phone off leaving complete

darkness leaves on the ground ground

continued to rustle as if someone was

stalking through the forest was it a

squirrel a deer no this was the type of

Silence of prey when a predator was

nearby and then I heard I see you my

stomach dropped all the air was sucked

out of my body I couldn't even

scream it was a woman's voice soft and

quiet coming from the pitch black

darkness of the tree line not 15 ft away

it was said without malice which somehow

made it even freakier

in that moment all I wanted to do was

just Shel up onto the ground and die

then I heard can you see me it wasn't

until I heard the voice again that my

fight ORF flight response kicked in but

I was disoriented standing there in the

darkness I had to turn my phone light

back on if I wanted to see which

direction I wanted to flee I aimed the

flashlight directly in front of me and

standing at the edge of the tree line

was the woman in the white gown this

time her features visible the gown was

dirt dir covered in dark stains she was

deathly pale skinny as a rail and her

disheveled gray hair fell down to her

elbows but her face was almost

Indescribable grotesque as if she were

missing half of her jaw yet it seemed as

though she were trying to grin at me in

my indecisive horror I had the

flashlight trained on her for a few

moments before I hauled ass down the

road back towards Darren's house that

Shack I had mentioned earlier was closer

to my current position down the opposite

direction but what if this woman was the

one who actually lived there I don't

know if that was a rational thought made

in the spur of the moment but I had no

time to wonder as I sprinted down the

road I could hear the snapping of twigs

and rustling of leaves behind me she was

chasing me but I was quickly able to

lose her with such a massive Rush of

adrenaline I made it back to Darren's

house ignoring the rest of the

neighborhood and I pounded on the door

pleading for the door to open up his

mother answered the door and quickly

ushered me inside seeing how shaken up I

was where I explained everything

everything to her along with Darren and

his father they were sympathetic

offering to let me stay the night there

while they called the police in a towing

service which I gladly accepted before

even contacting my own family the police

said they would search the area around

the road that night and that I could

come get my car back and make a

statement the next day but all I wanted

to do for now was put that night behind

me and Fade to sleep in the guest

bedroom but I soon found out that night

wasn't over I awoke from my sleep to the

sound of a light tap from the second

story window I looked at the digital

clock on the nightstand I remember the

time exactly 3:14 a.m. of course none of

the windows in the room had blinds I

didn't dare look out until I heard the

muffled voice from outside the same

voice saying I see you the woman was

still out there she had chased me all

the way here and now she was throwing

rocks to get my attention if I wasn't

going to look out the window before I

definitely wasn't going to now I wasn't

going to leave my spot in that bed or

fall asleep until morning when the sun

rose and Darren's family woke up the

woman was gone thankfully I told them

what else happened and we all looked

outside together before the police

showed up in the yard about where I had

heard the voice coming from Darren's

father found a large Rusty knife that

didn't belong to the family presumably

what the woman had used when slashing my

tires but that also meant she had

followed my car there to the party at

the beginning of the night and

specifically targeted me when everyone

else was inside during the festive ities

Darren's parents called and asked the

other party guests if they had seen

anything suspicious the night before and

one of their friends said they had seen

someone in a white dress walking around

outside from the window but thought

nothing of it seeing as how people were

coming and going all night when I gave

the police my statement I told them to

check around that Shack on the road here

as I had a hunch that woman had

something to do with it they eventually

did and updated me that they found no

one living there but there was dead

gutted Wildlife sprawled all around the

surrounding Woods

that woman I saw was never found which

of course raises a bunch of questions

the scariest ones to me though are how

she was able to track me down so quickly

once I left the party and if she was

missing so much of her face how was she

able to pronounce those words so

clearly despite what happens I'll still

be going to Darren's house for New

Year's Eve again this year but this time

I'll make sure to carpol and take the

long way around

when I was 26 I took a trip to San Diego

via plane I stayed with my friend for a

few days and booked a late flight back

home my flight landed at midnight by the

time I was off the plane and by the

ground transportation pickup point it

was like 12:30 I waved down a random

taxi in the taxi section and gave the

driver my home address he said he'd take

me for $30 which was a really good deal

compared to Uber he came out to help me

put my bag in the trunk of the van but I

said I was fine with it in the seat next

to me so he lifted my bag onto the seat

on the left side behind him I was

sitting diagonal from him he got back in

the car and pulled up the directions to

my apartment and we were on our way my

at the time apartment was about a half

hour drive from the airport with no

traffic at this hour there was obviously

no traffic we got right on the highway

and we were moving fast I caught the

driver's eyes St staring at me through

the mirror on two separate occasions and

on the second time he spoke he asked

where I was coming from I said San Diego

he said oh very nice then he asked me

what I was doing there I said I was just

visiting a friend who lives there his

response was is your friend as pretty as

you and honestly my first reaction was

to laugh but I found the comment really

creepy and it being the third thing out

of his mouth on the ride didn't help

from here his questions kind of stayed

on the flirty side side he asked me what

is a pretty girl like you doing

traveling all by yourself and I had a

slightly sassy response saying well I

just said I wasn't alone I was visiting

my friend and his rebuttal was that by

flying by myself I was traveling by

myself I maintained my slight SASS and

said we can agree to disagree and he

laughed and said he was only teasing me

this man had to be like 45 though I felt

like him hitting on a lone girl in her

20s like this was slightly creepy it

wasn't n the first time I dealt with

something like this though as we

continued down the highway I looked up

as I saw the familiar overpass right by

my exit but as we passed it he wasn't

slowing down I said this is my exit as

he was literally about to pass it and we

zoomed right by it I repeated myself

louder saying that that was my exit he

apologized and said he'd catch the next

one I tried to get a peek at his screen

to see if he put the right address in

but it was angled so that I couldn't see

it the next exit was about a mile

further I started sitting up on the edge

of my seat a bit now when the next exit

approached I said loud and clear you

need to get off here and without

acknowledging me he turned on his

blinker and merged off the exit I

noticed him glaring at me for a second

to the mirror I almost sensed a hint of

annoyance in his face but I guess that

quickly changed when not even a minute

later he asked me if I had a boyfriend I

replied back instantly yes he lives with

me I noticed him look at me again and I

think he picked up on how quickly I

answered that he asked what my

boyfriend's name is yes I'm serious I

decided that was enough I told him I'm

going to put my headphones in so I

popped my airpods into my ears even

though they were basically dead still I

just wanted this man to stop asking me

questions asking my boyfriend's name was

Next Level weird almost like he was

interrogating me I texted my family and

close friends about this creepy taxi

driver and I shared my location in case

God forbid things went sour we were in a

familiar area in my town now we were

stopped at the first red light since

getting off the highway I looked in the

mirror and all I saw were his eyes

glaring at me almost in this menacing

way I know he didn't say anything to me

because I didn't even have any music or

anything playing so I would have heard

him the light was now green and he was

still staring at me I had to tell him

the light was green and he started

moving again no one in my family was

answering except for my old brother who

must have been the only one awake but he

lives 2 hours away from me my brother

told me I should leave the car if I feel

threatened or in

danger we were now on a main road in my

town but there weren't any cars on the

road it was nearing 1:00 a.m. on a week

night we stopped at another red light

and I felt that man glaring at me again

through the mirror I then noticed a

police car parked in an empty parking

lot in a spur of the- moment decision I

grabbed my bag and backpack and slid the

van door open the man started yelling at

me what are you doing and he tried

closing the door with the power button

in the front but I forced it open and

the second the door was opened wide

enough for me to fit out I booked it

toward the police car instead of getting

out of the car and chasing me for my

money he just kept driving which already

was a huge red flag when I saw him

driving away I stopped running and

brought my Pace down to a quick walk to

the police car the officer in the car

noticed me as I saw him look up and roll

down his window I told him that the taxi

driver who was driving me was giving me

really bad vibes and I left for my own

safety I asked the cop if he could give

me a ride home and thankfully he said

hop in the back seat being a scared

female obviously helped but do I think

you should be going up to Cops asking

them to be your free taxi service

absolutely not by the time I was in the

car that taxi was already long gone the

cop drove me home and we were there in

about 5 to 10 minutes I let myself in

and didn't even bother unpacking I went

straight to brush my teeth and crash

into bed it seemed just as I got into

bed though there was a knock at the

front door of my

apartment what if it was the taxi driver

he had my address after all what if he

came for his money or Worse The Knocks

persisted for a few minutes then it went

silent for a few minutes and then there

were more knocks obviously I never left

my room I didn't want to be anywhere

near the front door the door was locked

and that's What mattered eventually the

knock stopped and I drifted away to

sleep the next day I was back to work I

had a slightly later shift luckily so I

didn't have to get up too early while I

was at work though I got a call from my

nextd door neighbor George he said that

my dad was there before trying to get

into my apartment to drop something off

but he didn't have a key George was

calling to confirm that I was in fact

expecting my dad and I said no I hadn't

heard from him George said he didn't see

him actually leave anything though he

was just checking through the windows

which his attention I thanked him and

then called my dad and as I was

expecting my dad said he was at work and

had not stopped by my house I took this

time to explain the entire Taxi Driver

situation to my dad again but over the

phone this time he wanted me to come

home for a few nights and I said I would

I just need to go home and pack my

things up first after work I got home

around 9:00 p.m. I finished up my

laundry from the night before and packed

a bag with some clothes and my work

stuff for the next few days something in

my apartment felt off though I never get

nervous from being alone but that night

I felt like I wasn't alone deep down I

felt like it was because the whole Taxi

Driver situation made me uncomfortable

but I felt like I kept hearing small

cracks in the wood floor like from the

pressure of someone's weight I just

couldn't pinpoint from where I was

honestly freaking myself out and tried

to hurry up and get all my stuff and go

it was about the moment I was ready to

leave the house when I heard a creaking

sound from down the hallway from the

spare bedroom I turned and Heard a Voice

say I wasn't going to hurt you and I saw

an arm swing into view from behind the

wall and I just took off to the front

door before he could even enter the

hallway I was outside screaming and

pounding on my neighbor George's door it

was still early enough where he and his

wife were awake they came rushing

outside and I begged for help instead of

entering my apartment we called 911 and

waited for the officers to show up

before going inside my apartment wasn't

huge so checking each and every

potential hiding spot didn't take long

the backsliding door to the shared

backyard area was open which also

suggested he fled through the backyard

unfortunately I didn't have any record

of the taxi ride I took so I didn't have

the cab number or plate number or

anything I could only describe it as a

yellow Minivan and give the description

of the man I did however describe the

route we took and the time I remember

getting into Town hoping maybe they

could knock on some local business doors

and check their cameras pointed to the

streets I grabbed my already packed bags

and headed to my parents house where I

stayed for a week they wanted me to stay

even longer but I had to get back home

my dad helped me install some cameras

from Amazon on my front and back doors

and I also bought a taser to put next to

my bed for

self-defense I've lived in two different

apartments since this experience I've

never had to use the taser I also avoid

taxis now if I'm alone as they are a lot

less traceable than a ride sharing app

but also you hear about fake taxi

drivers kidnapping people all the time I

have to wonder if that was a real taxi

driver at all or if it was a stolen

vehicle