When a woman from Florida boarded a plane to Iraq for her first-ever trip overseas, she wasn’t chasing danger, she was chasing wonder. Intrigued by the culture and history, she hoped for an unforgettable adventure. And she got one. But not in the way she expected.
The anonymous traveler shared her story on Reddit, and it quickly resonated with readers. The post, a gripping blend of cultural curiosity and harrowing suspense, reads like a real-life psychological thriller. Just days into her trip, the Florida woman met a local man who offered to help her find a furnished apartment in the city. At just $400 for the month, it sounded too good to pass up and, for a while, everything seemed fine.
After a long, exhausting day of exploring, she returned to the apartment late at night and decided to embrace a local custom she’d heard about: sleeping on the rooftop under the warm Iraqi sky. With a mattress in tow and nothing but the stars overhead, she drifted off to sleep around 10 PM, unaware that danger was just one rooftop away in the form of a night stalker.
Florida Woman Shares Terrifying Travel Tale
At around 2 AM, something stirred her awake. What she saw next would haunt anyone. The top half of a man’s face, peeking silently over the neighboring rooftop, eyes locked on her. He didn’t say a word, just stared with what she described as a cold, unsettling smile. “His breathing sounded slow and oddly cold,” she wrote. “I froze in place.”
Instinct took over. She grabbed her phone, sprinted down the stairs, and locked herself inside the apartment, trembling as she called the local police. Hours later, officers found the man, drunk, armed with a knife, and reportedly planning to attack her while she slept. He was arrested after trying to accuse her of making threats.
The man, she later learned, was mentally unstable. If she hadn’t woken up, this story might have had a devastating ending.
Her Warning Rings True
“I stayed awake the rest of the night, grateful I had woken up in time,” she shared. By sunrise, she was booking the first flight home to Florida, rattled, but safe.
Her story is a powerful reminder that while travel can open your heart and mind, it also requires vigilance, especially when you’re alone in an unfamiliar place. Her final advice? “Please, always be careful when you travel. Some adventures aren’t worth the risk.” This Florida woman’s love for travel may still be there, but her, but she’ll never be able to forget the trauma.
Hunter Spears 
Kenna Raye 
