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The Haunting at Daryl's Pond - A True Crime Escape from a Sinister Stranger · Shallow Nights: Scary Bedtime Stories

• 0:33
  There used to be a pond about half a mile away from my old
• 0:36
  house that I would commonly go fishing in.
• 0:38
  It was nicknamed Daryl's Pond. I still have no idea who Daryl
• 0:42
  was or why it was called that, but nobody owned it, so people
• 0:46
  would once in a blue moon go fishing there as well.
• 0:49
  It was usually me by myself though.
• 0:52
  I had dug a pole into the ground where I would tie a noose to,
• 0:55
  and from my small kayak I'd say it was about 3:00 in the
• 0:59
  afternoon when I rode out to the middle of the pond, the sweet
• 1:02
  spot for getting a decent catch. There was another person coming
• 1:06
  out from the trees. I waved at him and gave him a
• 1:09
  smile. He hopped into a small boat
• 1:12
  floating by the edge of the pond and began to roll over to me as
• 1:16
  he got close enough. We're trying to speak to him.
• 1:18
  Wouldn't come off as obnoxious. I gave him a friendly, perfect
• 1:22
  day, isn't it? Yes, absolutely, he said.
• 1:27
  He didn't say anything after that, and I started to feel a
• 1:29
  bit awkward, as if I were obligated to keep some kind of
• 1:32
  conversation rolling now. So you come out here to throw
• 1:37
  some lines? I asked.
• 1:39
  No, I don't actually fish. Oh well, it's never a bad day to
• 1:45
  relax on the pond, I said. He continued to row closer to me
• 1:50
  until his boat collided with mine, creating a big thug.
• 1:55
  I was genuinely uncomfortable. Now I didn't feel threatened,
• 1:59
  just weirded out. I was only 24 years old, this
• 2:03
  guy looked like he was his late 40s or 50s.
• 2:07
  There was an awkward silence. I tried to just act like I was
• 2:11
  focused on trying to make a catch, but by now that wasn't
• 2:14
  even on my mind. This guy was weird.
• 2:18
  I didn't know what he wanted and I was uncomfortable being so
• 2:20
  close to him. I felt him looking at me, or at
• 2:24
  least in my direction. As I face halfway to the
• 2:27
  opposite direction of him, I took a quick glance to my right.
• 2:32
  Yeah, he was staring at me. I decided to be ballsy and lock
• 2:37
  eye contact with him. After about four seconds, he
• 2:40
  looked away. So where are you from?
• 2:45
  I asked him. Up there, he pointed behind
• 2:50
  himself in the direction of the woodsy hill leading past the
• 2:53
  dirt road. Oh, you live by Suffolk?
• 2:56
  I asked. No, no I'm not, he said.
• 3:02
  What made you decide to come out here?
• 3:04
  I said why not? I continue to try and
• 3:08
  uncomfortably fill the awkward silences that kept coming up.
• 3:12
  His responses were dry. He didn't contribute anything to
• 3:15
  what was barely a conversation, he just sat there not doing
• 3:19
  anything with half a smile on his face, looking either at me
• 3:23
  or in my general direction throughout.
• 3:26
  I was creeped out, my heart was racing.
• 3:28
  At this point I'd go as far as saying that I was nervous for my
• 3:32
  life. We were surrounded by trees in
• 3:35
  all directions in the middle of the pond.
• 3:38
  I started to row a bit closer to land, but in a very low key kind
• 3:42
  of way, trying to play it off as me just trying to find a better
• 3:46
  spot to find some fish. I was horrified when I saw he
• 3:49
  was following me. What a great day, huh?
• 3:53
  I felt a shake in my voice. I got close enough to the edge
• 3:57
  of the pond where I finally told the man.
• 4:00
  I think I'm going to call it a day.
• 4:02
  I turned to see his reaction. He was still staring at me, but
• 4:07
  his smile was gone now. I can't let you leave.
• 4:11
  He said. He lifted his flannel to expose
• 4:14
  a handgun sticking out of his jeans pocket.
• 4:17
  As soon as I could process what I was looking at, I dove out of
• 4:20
  the boat for land, ran the whole half mile uphill through the
• 4:23
  woods back to my house and locked every door and window.
• 4:26
  As soon as I made it home, I pulled down the blinds to the
• 4:29
  dining room window, leaving it open just a crack for peeking
• 4:32
  outside undetected. It started to get dark out and I
• 4:36
  left every light in the house off, still peeking out to the
• 4:38
  front yard, making sure I wasn't followed.
• 4:42
  The time came when I finally decided I wasn't followed.
• 4:45
  I realize now, like you, that not calling the police
• 4:48
  immediately was a huge mistake. I kept my bedroom windows open
• 4:53
  to let the room air out. My bedroom was on the 2nd floor,
• 4:56
  so I wasn't worried about being watched through the window.
• 5:00
  About half an hour after shutting the light and falling
• 5:03
  under the covers, I heard the sound of leaves crunching from
• 5:06
  outside. I sat up to hear it more
• 5:11
  clearly, it was definitely something walking around out
• 5:15
  there. Normally I would assume it was a
• 5:17
  deer or a bear, but after what just happened I I was still in
• 5:21
  paranoia mode. I sat up as still as a statue
• 5:25
  except for my shaking out of fear waiting as the sounds of
• 5:28
  the steps stopped. Hey buddy, you up there?
• 5:33
  Are you trying to sleep? Sorry I didn't mean to wake you.
• 5:38
  I felt like 100 lbs just fell directly onto my chest.
• 5:43
  It was the same voice. I knew it right away.
• 5:46
  I didn't make a sound. I crept out of the room quietly
• 5:49
  downstairs to the kitchen and grabbed the phone, practically
• 5:52
  crawling on my way out to avoid being seen through the open
• 5:54
  blinds. I called 911 like I should have
• 5:57
  earlier in the temporary safety of my bedroom.
• 6:01
  I made sure to whisper into the phone as I was still hoping that
• 6:04
  he hadn't yet heard or spotted me. 20 minutes felt like an hour
• 6:09
  as I sat behind my bed waiting for the police to arrive in
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  constant fear that I would hear glass breaking from downstairs,
• 6:16
  or a thud on the back door, or even just a voice again from
• 6:19
  down below my window. Outside, the police did a
• 6:23
  thorough investigation of the property in nearby woods,
• 6:26
  turning up nothing. They suggested I stay with a
• 6:29
  friend or a family member for a few days, and so I did.
• 6:34
  I never heard from or saw the man again, but I still moved a
• 6:37
  month later. I couldn't deal with the
• 6:39
  constant fear and paranoia of being watched through my
• 6:42
  windows. I feel much more comfortable
• 6:45
  fishing out by the Bay now.