Barring those with a super autobiographical memory, most people go through their lives forgetting what transpired most days.
But every now and again, something happens to us which earns a permanent spot in our memories.
Sometimes, it's one we're grateful to have, following an encounter or experience which made us laugh or brought us surprising joy.
Other times, though, we might find ourselves going through something we wish had never happened to us.
And try as we might, we simply can't shake it from our memories, resulting in sleepless nights, and frequent jitters.
Redditor greatscot09 was curious to hear the memories people would give anything to erase from their minds, leading them to ask:
"What is the most unsettling experience you’ve ever had?"
Don't Want To Even Know How It Got There...
"Finding a finger wrapped in a newspaper at the bus stop on my way to work one morning."- MolotovRooster
When In Doubt, Always See A Doctor
"When I almost died."
"I had a bowel obstruction and I kept thinking it was just the flu."
"I would throw up every ten minutes or so and couldn’t keep anything down."
"When I vomited it smelled horrible and nothing like vomit."
"I finally went into the ER after I fainted and found out I needed emergency surgery because my small intestine was completely twisted shut."
"My organs were shutting down and my kidneys were barely operating."
"I realized I almost died."
"Really gets to me and makes me question every single illness now."- WordsAsWeapons79
Those We Love Never Truly Leave Us
"Hearing my father's voice, calling my name, just before I wake up, half asleep.'
"He passed away in February this year."
"It absolutely seems real, but its bone chilling."
"It happens regularly."- jesusismyairbag
Graveyards Are Best Avoided After Dark
"Not my story, but my parents."
"In the town of Smithfield, NC, there's an old cemetery next to the creek."
"Now, most cemeteries you'll visit aren't really that creepy, but this place was/still is a damn stereotype of a horror movie graveyard."
"Moss covered crypts, old head stones placed in odd places, trees that looked one magic spell away from becoming a murderous ent."
"One night, my parents went for a constitutional after dark and ended up cutting through this creepy-as-f*ck place."
"As they approached the oldest section of the cemetery, they heard something rustling near one of the graves."
"Being foolish young adults, in their early 30s at the time, they continued closer and closer until they came face to face with one of these."
"As in the folklore, it was a gigantic, pitch black dog who my father said 'felt evil'."
"As they stopped, it turned towards them from where it was sitting on a grave stone and growled at them."
"Now, neither of my parents are cowards, and my Dad certainly knew better than to turn and run from a predator, but turn and run like Satan was after them they did."
"Neither of my parents were then in amazing physical shape, but that dog scared them bad enough to have them sprint all the way back to their car."
"I still avoid that graveyard to this day."- KevMenc1998
The Conversation No Parent Wants To Have
"When my daughter was 5 I was a firefighter."
"We got a call for a working house fire."
"Since I was a rescue member I was first in for a search."
"I found a boy upstairs under his bed burned from head to toe."
"He was screaming and crying."
"I carried him out and handed him to the paramedics when he went silent."
"We tried everything but he was gone."
"When I got home I was a mess but it didn't hit me fully until the next day when my daughter said her friend wasn't in school."
"I had to explain to her he wasn't coming back."- Flyboy367
So Many Questions...
"Last winter, on one of those grey, rainy midwestern days, probably mid-40s outside, my wife and I were driving through a residential neighborhood and saw a completely nude woman walking down the sidewalk."
"She looked fairly young, probably mid-20s, and didn't have any visible signs of trauma."
"She was walking the same direction as us, so we couldn't see her face at first, but she was just slowly walking, not trying to get out of the rain or cold or anything."
"Wasn't even trying to cover herself with her arms."
"As we pulled up alongside her, my wife rolled her window down and asked if she was okay or needed help."
"She slowly turned her head towards my wife, locked eyes with her and said 'I'm okay!'."
"Then it was like she snapped out of something, and she took off running to the nearest house and went inside."
"We called 911 to tell them what happened and which house it was."
"Don't know whatever became of her, but it was really damn unnerving in ways that are hard to describe."- Plug_5
It's experiences like these which result in us lying awake at night.
Either too scared to fall asleep, or trying too hard to answer the numerous questions running through our minds.
Even if these experiences make good stories, one has little to no doubts that those who went through them would gladly trade them for one undisturbed night of sleep.
u/Duskymoonlight/Reddit
u/Duskymoonlight/Reddit