One night, unable to sleep, I mindlessly scrolled through TikTok, hoping to find something that would distract me from my restlessness. Among the countless TikTok Live streams, one particular stream caught my attention. The title simply read, “A Midnight Stroll.” Intrigued, I tapped on it, unknowingly opening the door to a world of horror. The stream depicted a man silently traversing through a desolate forest. The eerie atmosphere was suffocating, with darkness seemingly swallowing the lone figure.
To my utter shock, as the livestream continued, the man’s path led him to a familiar place—my backyard. I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was my house. How could this be possible? Fear gripped my heart, and I immediately dialed the emergency services, desperately hoping they could provide some answers.
The police arrived swiftly, but to my dismay, they found nothing out of the ordinary in the woods. Without any concrete evidence or immediate danger, they dismissed my claims.
I figured that this account would probably go live again, and when it does, I’ll screen record and get some proof. It took some time, but eventually, the livestream resumed. Unfortunately for me this time, however, it did not reveal my house. Just hours of this man walking through the woods at night.
“Why are people even watching this?” I thought to myself.
The livestream that night was a bust. This man didn’t do anything out of the ordinary besides, you know, being a weirdo walking through the woods at night.
I anxiously waited for the livestream to return. After two days, the account finally went live again, and this time, I was prepared. I started to screen record, determined to capture the proof I so desperately needed.
The stream unfolded just as before. The mysterious man paced through the dark woods, his footsteps crunching unsuspecting leaves. The sound of crickets could be distinctly heard. The man emerged from the depths of the forest, his gaze fixed on my house. But this time, something was different. He started moving towards my house, step by step, drawing closer to me. The fear that had gripped me earlier escalated to sheer terror. I knew I had to take action.
My fight-or-flight response activated, and I descended the stairs from my room, making my way to the kitchen window, never taking my eyes off the livestream. I peered into the darkness, searching for any signs of the man approaching my house. But to my horror, I saw nothing.
I looked back down at my phone and then back up to the window, and back down at my phone again. The man was continuing to walk towards my house in the livestream, but I didn’t see him in real time.
The realization struck me like a lightning bolt.
The livestream had a delay—it had to have a stream delay. I watched him approach my backdoor on my phone. My mind raced as I frantically looked to the left and noticed my back door was ever so slightly cracked open.