Your Most Frightening Moment

[cfc]

We already have a "dumbest moment" thread. But when were you the most frightened?

 

For me, it happened on the back of an old John Deere tractor in one of my Dad's apricot orchards back in the 1970s. I grew up in Patterson, California, "the apricot capital of the world," and that relative of the peach and plum was our ranch's major crop at the time.

 

I was hauling a brush shredder--a large cylinder that held rows of flails (metal bars that weighed about five pounds each). The cylinder rotates at high speed, and the flails grind and chop and smash everything in their path into fine mulch, which is disked under later. This thing makes the devil's own noise when it gets going--a loud roar and rhythmic pounding, along with a curious jingling sound. It's like you're being chased by Godzilla while the big lizard is wearing sleigh bells.

 

I was driving slowly between a two rows of trees as the shredder, well, shredded a long line of prunings and brush that seemed to stretch into infinity. All I had to do was drive in a straight line.

 

Then I heard a new sound--a loud, regular banging. "What the hell?" I thought. Then something whizzed past my head on the left side. There was a loud clump and a little cloud of dust ahead of me as something hit the ground. Then another zing past my right ear. It was a flail--the damn shredder was flying apart!

 

I stopped the Deere and switched off the fiendish farm implement from the bowels of hell. I cowered behind my only two lines of defense: a yellow plastic hard hat and a "shield" (a hallf-inch sheet of splintered plywood) behind the driver's seat. Those flying flails could've easily taken my head off.

 

Slowly the shredder came to a stop, but not without throwing one more singing flail. After I figured it was safe, I picked up the thrown flails and took the rig back to the ranch shop. Turns out that last year's shredder maintenance had been deferred, and the metal bushings that held the flails in place were worn out.

 

So, remember--always replace your bushings annually (if you have any bushings).

[socalMAN123]

The scariest moment for me was when a car almost crashed into our house. It was like 2 in the morning, and then suddenly we hear this huge boom. We run outside to find a busted up SUV lying on its side in our front yard. He crashed into one of our trees. The Police said if he drove three feet over, he would've gone straight into my brother's room. yeah, it was pretty scary.

---Brent 8)

[ScOtT k]

I was taking the train to Invesco Field at mile high. The train has 2 tracks (duh) a southbound, and a northbound. Well, I was waiting for the nothbound train. I hear a bell and look up, the northbound is headed to the station. I look up and see that the train is already in the station (wow! that was fast) I run across to catch the train. The only problem was that... well, I had been looking at the southbound train. I run across the station to catch what I thought was the northbound train. I hop over the northbound tracks and hear a loud horn. I look and see that the northbound train is headed right towards me! I jump and land on the pavement. 2 seconds later and I would have been dead. I then look and see that my train (It was really the southbound train) was pulling away. I got all upset, and then turned around. I looked at the other train and realized that the train that almost killed me was the northbound train - my train.

 

The only time I've ever been more scared is when there was a ghost in my apartment complex. That was creepy!

[Twister II]

^Seriously, Ive been over there once, and that was enough. See if people actually knew what the F they were doing, I would probly use RTD more!

 

Umm..

 

The TTD restraint came open when we were on the launch track, waiting to launch.

 

But I looked back and noticed that an Op did it, and I was freaking out for nothing but I really thought I was going to die!

[SonOfBeastSucks]

^ :shock: My life would of been over right then! My scariest momment was when I was being chased through the woods by this maniac with a chainsaw! Oh wait! That was a movie. Sorry. Seriously, I would have to say my scariest momment was when I was about 10 or 11 and someone rang the doorbell. I looked through the peep hole and someone was standing there with a bat waiting to hit whoever opened the door! I was freaking out, and home alone, so I didn't answer the door, just kept looking at him thorugh the peep hole. He finnaly went away. I don't know if I was seeing things, or was imagining it, but I was scared that day.

[Jew]

The first time I met Robb was pretty scary!

[Louise]

I witnessed an EXTREMELY nasty display of road rage on a flight across the Atlantic once which was more violent and frightening than I care to think about too much... I'm a nervous flier as it is but... Eek.

 

That and the (now gone) hippo thing at Alton Towers. :shock:

[coasterguy618]

Last halloween, i was in my basement all alone. And all of the sudden, the radio turned it self on! I was like 15 feet away too! I got so freaked out.

[tinkerbell]

Once when we were coming back from San Francisco on BART (public train), some guy started yelling and swearing at his girlfriend. This only went on for about 2 minutes and then he got off the train (so did the girlfriend...brave person), but it was scary at the time, since we all thought he might have had a gun. I wouldn't have been surprised...he had some major anger issues. This doesn't really sound too bad in writing, but it was actually pretty scary being there.

 

Also once when my friend and I were at my house alone watching tv, the tv got all fuzzy and really loud (like in the Ring). It scared both of us (knowing me I probably screamed...), but then I changed the channel, and they were interrupting for a news report or something like that.

[cfc]

I witnessed an EXTREMELY nasty display of road rage on a flight across the Atlantic once which was more violent and frightening than I care to think about too much... I'm a nervous flier as it is but... Eek.

 

That and the (now gone) hippo thing at Alton Towers. :shock:

 

"Road rage" while flying across the Atlantic? Did a UFO cut in front of the plane while making obscene gestures? :?

[DATman]

Scariest moment for me was when a shadow went past my door at 1:00 am

 

the next morning, i found out that no one was awake at that time

[Kroger8]

LOL when I used to have bunk beds, I would switch out beds like every night, so one night I was on the top bunk and woke up at like 3, and looked down on the floor, and there were two eyes, no kidding, I stayed up for a while, and watched it, and it just stayed there so I finally went back to sleep... 8 years or so went by and then I thought about it, and remembered my cat... I was so scared though!

[What Now]

At a campground in Oklahoma:

 

A bunch of my family and I were sleeping in a cabin. I couldn't sleep, I look over to see the cabin door opening and closing seemingly by itself.

[coastakid]

I was home with my mom and we where in the dark of the night and then the power went out! later it came back on so i was like thank god.....ok then i was looking out my window and the sensor lights went on and they arent very sensetive and only turn on if there is some 1 near them. soooo i let my dog out and then she started barking and wouldnt go down the porch steps to go to the bathroom so i was really scared that night..

[woah_killa]

one time i went to waverly, which is a haunted plantation and like when u go there is a little girl that haunts the place and there was this bed that when she sleeps on it, it makes an impression, and when we went, we saw the bed and it had an impression in it, and then like 30 seconds later, it went away, i was like :shock:

this is waverly on the inside...it's like the main room that's like 4 stories high with balconies all around it

[zongaboy626]

one time i was at pga and i rode top gun in the front row far right seat and while we were going down the first drop there was a guy standing at the bottom of the hill i yelled and screamed and when we got to the bottom of the hill he went away like just poof and he was gone when i got off my right foot was in pain and then i heard the story about the dude that got his head kicked off on top gun

 

other then that when i went on the zipper for the first time we swung upside down and bolts started falling on scared the crap outa me

[zongaboy626]

oops double post

[andrea]

me and my friend about 7 or 8 years ago were sitting on my couch in the dark talking about scary stuff i then said what would you do if the tv turnd on by itself, wich the tv was only a few feet away in front of us, she then said that she would probablly scream and right after that the tv came on then went back off, we just froze in fear,after that we did'nt talk about anything scary again.

[andrea]

ahhhh,this stupid thing keeps double posting

[CoasterExpert13]

My scariest moment happened like 3 days ago. I was driving home from downtown, I was just about 3 minutes away from my house. I was getting ready to change lanes going to the left. I check all my mirrors before I slowly began to drift into my desired lane...then outta nowhere so old ass blue buick century shot pass me going like 65mp on a 40mph road, the left front end of the car (My Mom's car/Pontiac Vibe 04') side swiped his buickand we both went spinning....I didn't hit the brake, I was just trying to keep the car from flying into anything...after the cars stop spinning...the guy took off fast as hell....I was scared and pissed.

[FlyingScooter]

My moment was 15 yrs ago. It happened the day before halloween. My mom had been dying of cancer for like two months. She passed the day before halloween and between my dad, sisters and me, I was the last one called at work. I had the furthest to drive, yet got there before everyone. mom was in a hospice unit at a nursing home. When I walked into her room, everything felt so surreal. I kissed her cheek and it was cold and i freaked. I kept staring at her and then the slightly opened window in her room. I went back and forth like for what seemed to be a century. (I guess i was thinking of jumping)

After a while, a nurse walked in and asked if i was okay. In my head i heard this loud >CLICK<. I answered her that i was okay.

And for the next 11 months following that i was emotionally dead.

That was my scariest moment and I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy.

[Louise]

^ Something quite similar happened to me when my auntie passed away, also in a hospice. And that feeling of being numb emotionally is terrifying, I think it's almost worse than feeling the pain.

 

But without letting this thread go into my own despair...

 

"Road rage" while flying across the Atlantic? Did a UFO cut in front of the plane while making obscene gestures?

 

I'm a dumbass. On route to the dumb moments thread as we speak. Road rage ON THE ROAD, AIR rage in the air Louise... *smacks forehead*.

 

Jeez. Thanks for not ridiculing me too much cfc!

[cfc]

Jeez. Thanks for not ridiculing me too much cfc!

 

Just seeking a bit of clarification, Lou. I often get my tongue tangled in my toes when I put my foot in my mouth.

[Louise]

I'm about 1000 times worse in person, wait til the UK trip! My tongue's as clumsy as the rest of me. I have foot in mouth disease.

[Mind Eraser]

Fell asleep on a highway in '01, and ran off into a construction zone, hitting all kinds of big objects. This sign came through my windshield and just barely missed slicing me in two. Found out later that when I ran into the construction zone, I severed my gas line (or whatever it's called). Had there been a spark or something, it would have been BOOM for Kip.