The Very Best Scary Stories from Reddit

The Best Shakes in the Galaxy are at the Milky Way Diner

[CW: suicide]

I think I met a star last night. She saved my life. We barely talked, but she saved my life. I bought a telescope on Amazon this morning, but I know I won't be seeing her again for a long time.

Okay, okay. The beginning. I have a lot of feelings. A lot of people have feelings, but as far as I can tell, I have more feelings than most people. They're so big and loud and impossible to manage once they all get going. I have some diagnoses, and I'm in therapy, but I don't want to tell you what they are because even if you promise you won't judge, you'll judge me anyway.

It was one of those nights. A big feelings night. It's always worse at night because the shadows get longer and turn into monsters and then the monsters climb into my brain and they pump up the feelings until they get big, huge, too big for my brain, and then all I can do is lie in bed and listen to podcasts until I pass out.

Wait - real quick - I'm not going to kill myself, if that's what you're thinking. When people talk about monsters in their heads, other people get pretty worried that they're going to kill themselves. But I'm not. Not anymore.

Anyway, it was one of those nights, and at around midnight I realized that lying in my bed was making it worse. Everything was making it worse. What the fuck was the point anymore, if every night was going to be like this? I got mad. Who the hell is anyone to try and tell me I have to live?

So I got in my car. I got in my car and I drove. Up into the Vermont mountains, where the air got colder but I felt like I could finally breathe. And then down, through all the tiny valley towns. I cruised along Route 7 just taking it all in. My windows were open and I didn't give a shit that the wind was whipping across my face.

I wouldn't have admitted it then, but I guess I'll say it now - I was looking for a pretty place to die.

That's when I saw the billboard. I noticed a blue glow coming up along the right and I slowed down a bit. With white text on a blue and purple stellar background, it proclaimed:

"The Galaxy's Best Shakes are at the Milky Way Diner! Ahead on the right - Open 24 hours!"

I slowed down without thinking. Shakes. A milkshake became the only thing on my mind. They'd always been my favorite, since I was a kid. I hadn't had one recently - hadn't really been eating much at all, I guess.

Might as well have a good last meal, I thought.

As promised, a little diner appeared just around the corner. It was one of the real old ones, the ones inside of train cars. The car had a white body and the roof was painted a pale blue. Some of the paint was chipped - it could probably have used a fresh coat. Across the side of the car, it read, "The Milky Way Diner."

The gravel of the parking lot crunched loudly under my tires as I pulled in. There was only one other car in the lot - a generally unremarkable silver sedan. I parked and got out of my car, locking it out of habit only. It felt weirdly safe there. At the time, I told myself it was just because I was coming to peace with my death. Now, I'm not so sure.

A bell chimed when I stepped in through the door. Inside, I could clearly see that they were really leaning into their space theme. Booths lined the wall of the door and across from them was a counter with a bunch of stools. The white walls were covered posters - everything from star maps to Star Wars. The floors were a dingy grey linoleum, and the vinyl of the booths and stools was a deep navy but clearly cracked from age. Everything else was in a cool space-age silver. When I looked up at the ceiling, I noticed that someone had neatly painted gold stars on a deep blue background. Overall, the place was charming, but - as far as I could tell - empty.