Four years ago, my girlfriend and I were studying in Winchester, Hampshire. One evening, around half past ten, we headed out to meet a friend for dinner. Her house was just a short walk from my girlfriend’s flat, so we decided to go on foot. Everything seemed normal at first—we chatted as we strolled along, taking our time. To get there, we had to turn left at a corner.
We were nearly there when, mid-conversation, my girlfriend quietly asked what that was in the distance. I glanced sideways and saw a figure moving toward us, about two streets away. It was tall, heavily built, and walked oddly, almost sideways, with a hunched posture. Despite the dimly lit road, it was clear it was moving fast, like it was trying to catch up to us.
It struck us as strange, but we thought it might just be someone from the area—maybe a homeless person. We kept walking and turned the corner. Only a couple of houses away from our friend’s place, my girlfriend suddenly squeezed my hand tight. In a frightened whisper, she asked if I’d seen what was behind us. I spun around immediately, and there, right where we’d just turned, was the same figure.
There was no way it could’ve reached us so quickly. We’d seen it much farther away only moments ago. Fear took hold of us, especially when it started moving again—fast, almost straining, but getting closer with every step.
We didn’t think twice—we bolted, making it to our friend’s doorstep in seconds. We pounded on the door in panic, and she opened it right away. We rushed inside without a word. She could tell we were pale and out of breath. Her little terrier started barking furiously at the street, like something—or someone—was still out there.
Seeing how shaken we were, our friend thought we’d been mugged. Once we’d calmed down a bit, we told her what happened. She and her parents went outside to look, but the road was completely empty.
That night, we decided not to go back to the flat. We stayed over, our hearts still pounding with fear. To this day, we’ve no idea what was following us, but we both agree on one thing—whatever it was, it didn’t seem human.
