The most disturbing situations are frequently those that we cannot fully explain or predict. These bizarre and unsettling experiences leave an imprint that refuses to vanish, replaying in our brains long after they occur. In this collection, people relate their true-life encounters—bizarre and terrifying incidents that continue to haunt them to this day.

I lost my 7-year-old son in the mall. I was crying, and a blonde woman approached to console me. Hours later, he was discovered. Ten years later, I was relating the incident to a friend and recounted the kind stranger who assisted me.

My son instantly turned pale. He looked at me and remarked, ’’ Sweet? Mom, that’s not what happened. That woman was actually the one who took me. She and a man carried me to the parking lot and kept me in their car for a while. I remember them arguing.’’ He went on, ’’She came back to distract you, but it was her boyfriend who changed his mind and let me go.’’

I was extremely stunned. My son had maintained the truth hidden from me all these years, trying to protect me from more pain. At that moment, my entire understanding of that day—and that woman—was shattered.