The terms ‘psycho’ and ‘sociopath’ get thrown around a lot in movies and pop culture. But when you personally meet an actual psychopath or sociopath, it can be bone-chilling.

In a brutally honest AskReddit thread, people who are related to psychopaths shared the heart-stopping moments when they were legitimately scared for their lives. Keep scrolling to read their experiences.

Just be warned that some of these stories are so emotionally intense that they might not be for everyone.

Read More: 44 People Who Grew Up With A Psychopath Share Their Terrifying Experiences

#1

I had several with my brother, but the worst was when I woke up to him sitting on my chest with his hands around my throat. He was trying to choke me, but his hands were too small and he didn’t get the pressure right so I ended up with a giant hickey around the entire front of my neck instead of death. All because I ate the last nutty bar.

Image credits: mailboxheaded

#2

Started chatting with a girl online and after a bit she sheepishly admitted that she had a criminal record.

We went on chatting for a bit, she was cute and VERY interested in me, but of course the conversation eventually led us back to the criminal question. Turns out she was on parole. Now I NEEDED the story of how she got into trouble.

She finally took a pic of her parole document and sent it to me. I was reading it and came to the line where it listed the offense she had committed.

**HOMICIDE**

Can you say GHOSTED?

Needless to say, we never met IRL.

Image credits: iconoclast63

#3

My younger brother (who I’m still living with) has about 2 months ago started to get very aggressive towards his classmates and has also been kicking our dogs and things like that my parents have tried to punish him but the only way they feel as if they can get through to him is through spanking him and what not (he has told me all this does is make him more angry) and about 2 days ago he told me “you’re pretty unlucky you don’t have a lock on your door” some nights I also wake up to weird noises in the hallway connecting my room to his, so yeah that’s worrying…

UPDATE: they went to a therapist and they believe that he may have depression and some form of social anxiety I do know that’s a pretty quick diagnosis but I trust the therapist and her opinion, he should be getting some more therapy for it and medication if he can get it, thank you all for the advice and help in the situation!

Image credits: bloodypinkytoes

#4

When I was about 11 or 12, and my brother around 6 or 7, I was woken up one night by my mom jumping on/over me, like a flying tackle. I had a pedestal bed that had enough room between it and the wall for walkways on both sides, and she came out of there with my brother and an axe.

My brother and I had separate bedrooms, mine at the very end of the house and his just 5-10 ft from my door. Her bedroom was at the far end of the house. She had woken up suddenly and had the urge to check on us. When she got to his room first in the hallway, she saw his bed was empty. When she walked into mine he was standing over me, one foot on either side of my body, with the axe raised over his head. He was standing still and staring at me, like he was trying to decide if he was gonna do it. She sprinted in and tackled him off me before he could do it.

That was the first in a long line of insane incidents with him, and it’s been about 18 years since.

Image credits: FUS_RO_DANK

#5

A little late to the party, but my younger step-brother suffered from a host of mental issues, most visibly conduct disorder for those in the know, related to neglect from his time with his birth mother. Despite my parents every (and I mean EVERY) attempt to get him psychological help, nothing seemed to work. Tough to know where to begin with describing childhood with him. He would initiate constant arguments over the smallest of things, occasionally reaching the point of violence. Most of this violence was ultimately harmless (hitting walls, etc), but it got more dangerous towards others as he got older.

On a personal basis, our relationship was fine; I was his favorite brother and, due to his smaller size, never felt truly unsafe. That is, until he discovered weapons. One time my parents found him hiding a large knife from the kitchen block under his bed. When he was confronted, he flew into a rage, a 5′ tornado of screams and fists. Despite his small stature, he was a powerful kid once he got into a rage, and it took myself and our other brothers to subdue him. It’s tough to remember if any death threats were specifically thrown during this breakdown. Regardless, the threat was implied by previous death threats to members of the family. What made it real was that it was the first time I’d seen him truly begin such a lethal plan. Our bedrooms were right next to each other and my locks didn’t work, so I quickly learned how to sleep with one eye open. Things got better and worse throughout high school, but I never became comfortable sleep in the same house as him. We had a tough relationship for a long time while I was away, with my selfishly ignoring him and the problems I left at home when I left for college.

But the story does have a happy ending. My brother lived with some other family members for a period of time, and eventually went out on his own at an extremely young age. He had a couple of tough years, refusing to contact home and ask for help. Somehow, he overcame his cognitive shortcomings on his own and found a service job in a major city that provides him a steady income, as well as a serious girlfriend. He has reached back out to our family, and we now have a pretty good relationship that’s moved beyond our past.

Image credits: ldg25

#6

My older cousin tried to drown 7-year-old me in a kiddie pool and almost succeeded. I don’t mean he dunked me underwater as a prank. I mean he forced me to kneel beside the pool and used his considerable size advantage to hold my head underwater until I started to faint. He only stopped when my sister happened to come by. He did it to her later that day. She was 2 at the time.

Apparently he is “better now” and I’m “being unfair” for making it clear that I never want to see him again.

Image credits: schofelig

#7

Had an ex look at me intently and say “I don’t understand why I can’t destroy you. I’ve tried everything and it usually works but you’re still here”. Then he fought and prolonged the divorce for years because he “enjoyed watching people suffer”. Convinced a few people for a while that I was the sick one, then his facade dropped. Too bad for him that the rest of us are actual sentient beings and he’s not as powerful or intelligent as his deluded chaos of a brain told him he was.

Image credits: MamaBear4485

#8

At a club with my cousin who I hadn’t seen since he was little (all the cousins were in town for a family reunion), he says to me “do you ever imagine what it would be like if you gave everyone bleach instead of whatever they’re drinking”?

I excused myself with a non-committal “hmmm” and made sure not to eat or drink anything he gave me the rest of the time we were there.

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