15 people share times they reconnected with an old friend and were horrified.
Catching up with an old friend can be incredibly grounding.
Grabbing a drink with someone who knew you in younger years can bring back a flood of good memories, help integrate your past and present self, and also solidify a long-standing bond.
Conversely, there are times when running into someone from your past is a horrifying and depressing tale. Maybe their views on the world changed radically, or they didn't change at all which comes with its own depressing results.
In a popular Ask Reddit thread, people shared times they reconnected with an old friend and were horrified by how they turned out.
1. From aspbergerinparadise:
I knew a girl in high school who was pretty cool. We went on a class trip and spent a lot of time hanging out, then later I went to a few punk shows with her. 7 or 8 years later, I was back in town visiting.
I stopped at a gas station to fill up, and this emaciated, dirty creature stepped out of the shadows and asked me if I had any spare change. It was her. She looked like she hadn't eaten in days and had track marks all up and down her arms.
She didn't recognize me. I gave her the few bills I had in my pocket and left. Kind of haunts me to this day.
EDIT: (4 months later): She actually messaged me on FB recently. Looks like she kicked her habit and is doing well today!
2. From SpookyFrito:
My husband ran into an old friend and invited him over to hang out. It had been about 5 years since he had seen him. The old friend shows up with the sketchiest woman you can imagine, missing teeth, sores, the whole nasty set.
The chick makes a beeline for my bathroom and spends like 45 minutes in there before bolting to my patio and puking over my balcony.
I had had enough so I kicked them out, as they were leaving they looked around my apartment and said 'You have really nice things we will be back.' When I went into my bathroom I found an orange cap from a syringe on the floor.
TL;DR If it has been 5+ years since you have seen someone do not invite them to your place.
3. From LordTyrannid:
Not horrified but I recently reconnected with a childhood friend, who from what I remember was a nerdy fat kid with minor aspergers.
I reconnected at the age of 18 and he is now a nerdy, ripped, six four monster of a man with a Klingon batlith on the wall and every Star Trek action figure mint In box, signed by the actor who played them.
4. From zodar:
My ex found me on Facebook. After we broke up, she dropped out of college, got into intravenous drugs, and did some Internet porn. She wanted to know if I wanted to come over to her halfway house for sex. I did not.
5. From sufferingohioan:
I found out that an individual whom I played sports with (many times giving me rides to practice and games) was running a near multiple year-long internet scam.
They posed as a parent whose child had cancer, using pictures they stole from other people and their children around the internet.
The scam ended up gaining scores of supporters and went so far as selling personalized wristbands with the 'child's' (remember the child is not real) name on it.
They are now under investigation for possible money laundering (however it is not proven that they did or did not). This scam was so large that there are multiple large news groups that picked up and reported the story (which is how I found out).
My mind is still blown from my discovery.
6. From roninzero:
After going away to college and coming back to my hometown, I was horrified to find out that my best friend turned into a Neo Nazi/KKK guy. This is the same guy that I would have dinner at his house mom and dad loved me and even his nephew.
He had gone to the extreme by getting Nazi tattoos and even wearing racist shirts. He still was very nice to me and invited me over where he was proudly displaying his Rebel Flag, tats, Nazi symbols.
It was hard for me to think this was my friend who would pick me up every day for school and drop me off. By the way, I'm a black female. I still somewhat talk to his sister and parents.
7. From Mikey-2-Guns:
I ended up hearing from one of my old childhood friends and neighbor that one of our other childhood friends in the neighborhood who I hadn't talked to in over a decade murdered his college girlfriend and is spending life in prison now.
We were best friends from like 5-13 years old until our family moved.
8. From stellarpath:
Yep. I had a friend in elementary school who moved in 5th grade. He didn't move far, but this was 1988, so there was no internet, his family was too poor to have a phone, and we lost touch.
Fast forward to 2002. I was teaching GED classes in the jail in our hometown. In my third or fourth months of the job, he came into one of my classes, as an inmate. In a small town, this really wasn't uncommon.
I had tons of former friends and acquaintances from school in on drug charges, child support, usually relatively minor things like that. He was in for murder. Not on suspicion of murder, no ambiguity.
He literally killed a guy with a switchblade, on the street, in front of numerous witnesses. Cut him wide open. I don't even remember his reason for doing it, but it was something pretty mild, like an insult or something similar.
He had no remorse. He tried to talk to me about just stuff, and I was civil like I always was with my students. I actually made some good 'friends' in jail, but he and I just didn't have anything in common anymore.
I was a college grad, working on a higher degree, keeping clean and out of trouble. This wasn't even his first time in jail. He had been in before for beating people up, numerous drug charges.
He definitely was not that kid that I traded Garbage Pail Kids with anymore. He didn't last long in that jail. He was just there for a few weeks before being sent to prison. He wasn't in prison long.
Served his surprisingly short term, got out, and has been back to prison twice since then. Not for murder, but domestic assault. Pretty sure he should probably stay in prison now.
9. From SoSickofthelies:
My story is close enough to share. Couple of years after high school some friends and I were discussing the recent arrest of another guy in our grade.
Another friend mentioned this guy was going through the police Academy with him until he suddenly stopped coming. This guy used to throw big parties in high school where there was lots of alcohol.
I had never been invited but knew guys that had. Turns out that at these parties the guy would tell others that he had a girl that would give them a blow job but was shy and would only do it if they were blindfolded and had hands behind their back.
Somehow someone found out that there was no girl. Suddenly no one would admit that they had gone to the parties. Same guy was arrested later for impersonating a police officer and soliciting minors to help him do 'undercover work.'
10. From SlanderMeNot:
I found a childhood friend that I hadn't seen for 25 years or so on Facebook. Turns out, he's a huge racist now.
On a related note, a guy I knew from the Army 20 Years ago that was a racist skinhead is now one of the most tolerant people I know.
11. From firepants2010:
I got a phone call two days ago from someone I've known for 20 years. We haven't spoke in ten. He called me to tell me he has prostate cancer and has around two weeks left.
He wanted my shipping address so he could send me his most personal items. He refused treatment, and isn't telling his family. They live across the country. I'm the only person he has told. So yeah. Horrifying doesn't even come close to this.
12. From Damaged_One:
I went to a 25-year elementary school reunion where I found out that a guy in my class was now the principal of a middle school. He was well respected, well-liked and doing a great job. I was very impressed.
Back in grammar school he was the crazy kid in class who could never sit still, was always getting in trouble and was barely passing his classes.
After 10 years on the job, while still principal, it comes out that he never should have gotten the job as he had no prior experience, or training, or degree.
Even if he had all of the right certifications, his arrests, convictions, and jail time would have made him ineligible.
This didn’t come into play because he forged his fingerprints while applying for the position. All of this finally came out because he was arrested for statutory rape. Seems he had sex with an underage high school student he met online.
The kid recognized him as his middle school principal and told his friend about it. His friend told his parents and the parents went to school officials. The kid was 16 and the principal was 44. The case is pending.
13. From Tatertits:
My best friend Eric from elementary and middle school. I moved after 8th grade and recently reconnected with him after 4 years of absence.
Turns out he dropped out, lives with 5 other random junkies, is addicted to PCP, and got a restraining order against him from his mom for beating the shit out of her. To think we used to ride scooters.
14. From pingOfdeath:
My girlfriend all through high school left me after about a five-year stint for a drug-dealing idiot. During high school, she was the captain of the cheerleading team and an avid churchgoer.
About 6 months ago, she created a Facebook account and sent me a friend request and an IM. I had heard she was bad off but had no idea.
During the IM she asked how I was doing and I told her that I was raising a family and working on my M.S. while working full-time for a local college. When I asked her how she was doing I got no reply.
I later sent her cousin that I am friends with a message to ask her what was up. She told me that she has 4 different kids from 4 different dudes in which she has custody of none and is a prostitute and crack wh*re.
I wished a lot of bad things on her but never this much.
15. From newageathey:
I had a friend from high school who was pretty chill, we would hang out and smoke weed a few times a week. After high school, I stopped hanging out with him cause he was doing harder drugs and was super paranoid all the time.
This last January he found me on Facebook and wanted to chill but I declined. A few weeks later he murdered his girlfriend's kids, an 8-month-old and a 2-year-old, with a knife and then killed himself.
The investigator wrote in his report that it was the worst crime scene he has ever seen in his 30+ years, as no part of their trailer was not covered in blood.
EDIT: Some people are trying to make me feel guilty for not wanting to hang out with this guy. He was paranoid schizophrenic and had a history of addiction.
I was at a point in my life where I was dealing with my own problems, and I did not want to take on his bullsh*t as well. What he did was because of him, and f*ck all of you that thinks it's because of me that he killed them.
Here is the article, though I am hesitant to post because it obviously has personal information about the victims. http://gazette.com/tragic-stabbing-deaths-leave-community-families-grieving/article/151001
Edit 2: After hundreds of replies and PMs about how brave or strong I am for not blaming myself, I must say I am proud of reddit this day.
A few (and I do mean only a few) people commented or PMed me saying things along the lines of 'Think, if only you had met with him, perhaps those children would be alive'. The absolutely vast majority were very supportive toward me.
Let me say that I never once felt responsible for what happened, because the actions of a deranged psychopath will always be outside of my control.
To anyone suffering from mental illness, or to those that care about others that do, please remember that treatment and help is out there. I do not know if this heinous act could have been prevented by therapy or medication.
Ethan was on his meds at the time (Toxicology confirmed) and was stable just hours before the murders. I do not know what made him snap, I only hope that others can learn from his actions and prevent future tragedies.