These Wild Stories Prove Our Gut Instincts Are Basically Superpowers

Helping my 88-year-old grandma in the yard with my nearly mute dog. I’m bent over pulling weeds when my dog starts a deep growl. Look back: a 400-pound bear strolling up less than 50 feet away. The bear was totally silent until I shouted at it. No dog, no telling what could've happened. Carly Girl’s definitely the hero here.

At about 10 or 11 years old, Mom sent me to get McDonald's at night because she was too sick to go. On the way back, I gave my chicken nuggets to a homeless man. Then some random dude tried to drag me off! The homeless guy jumped in and beat him up, letting me get back safe. I still think about how lucky I got.

Not me, but my mom’s gut feeling saved me. I was dizzy and not eating and they just said dehydration. Mom insisted on the ER, and that night I got diagnosed with leukemia. Three years later, and I’m still here because of her sense of something awry.

Mom got me a bed with an empty space underneath. It was my personal hangout. One night at 13, I went under to read but fell asleep. Mom left to get groceries, then woke me up freaking out. Someone had broken in and robbed us—and killed the dog. If they knew I was there… no thanks.

My apartment had a six-level fire just down the hall. I ran past cops, through ash-covered floors and flooded hallways, up five flights to my smoky apartment, grabbed my two cats, and ran out. Totally worth it. Trauma? Oh yeah, but worth every step.

One night, I choked on the nachos I made while home alone. I panicked and started blacking out. Fell to the ground and my dogs thought it was playtime—they jumped on my back with a toy. Their weight forced me to cough up the nachos. They saved me without even knowing. Wild, right?

Bit crazy—there was this arc flash, and the guy behind me basically vanished (not literally, but you get the idea). I walked away without a scratch.

I was deep asleep when I suddenly saw a man standing at my bed’s foot. My dog went nuts. The guy had broken into my townhouse, stolen stuff, and trashed the place—and I didn’t even know. My dog was the real MVP: she woke me and scared him off. Turns out, he was hiding nearby and attacked someone else later. Never without a dog since.

I just felt like teaching my mom how to video call. We practiced a lot. A week later, bam—COVID lockdown. Pretty sure that random feeling was a heads-up!

Got thrown out of a car going about 40 mph on I-95. I was unconscious and woke up in the hospital. The car behind me? An off-duty cop who saved my life. Didn’t break a bone. What saved me? No idea, but I’m seven years clean now and here to tell the tale.

PPD hit hard: my brain was telling me to suffocate my baby and to end myself. I left home, white-knuckle drove to the hospital, pleading for help. Even though they said it was “just PPD” and sent me home, it was the scariest thing I've ever gone through.

I was 18 and at a club I shouldn’t have been at. A guy kept buying me drinks, said he wanted to dance. We barely made it to the dance floor before he pushed me out a side door and tried to drag me to his car. My friends found me and got bouncers to block the guy, so I escaped. I still wonder if I’d have survived otherwise.

While six months pregnant, I was kidnapped and carjacked. Somehow, I managed to fight off my attacker and kept my car. That's some serious mama bear power!

Fell off a boat at night into pitch black water. Friends were about half a mile away with phone lights but couldn’t hear me. Suddenly something bumped me—a buoy! I held on tight until another boat spotted me hours later. Talk about a close call.

I was at a red light with my little brother, who’s normally super quiet. When the light turned green, he grabbed my arm and yelled 'WOAH!' Totally not his style. I stopped just in time to see a car blast the intersection. How’d he know? No clue.

I had a 'widow maker' heart attack but drove myself to the ER. Seriously almost didn’t go at all. Talk about guts (and maybe a bit of crazy).

I got hit by a drunk driver on the freeway. Everyone in their car was airlifted to the hospital. I walked away with just a scratch on my toe. Luck overload!

I had an infection that went septic. Four days on life support and doctors told my family to say goodbye. Then a visiting doctor who knew my dad came by, peeked at my chart, and arranged an emergency transfer with a waiting team. I woke up the next day and spent a month in care. Pure luck or something else?

I was just hanging near a bonfire when someone left a soda bottle filled with gasoline nearby. I felt this sudden urge to move away and told my friends to come with me. Seconds later, a big explosion happened. Talk about lucky instincts!

I was chilling at a red light when I saw an 18-wheeler smash into my car. When the light turned green, I just sat there for 5 seconds. Then another 18-wheeler blew through the red, which would've been me if I had gone. Phew!

When I was young, a van pulled up, and a man and woman tried to convince me to get in, pretending my brother was on the phone. I was shy but said no anyway, walked inside, and told my dad. It turns out it was his ex-wife trying to kidnap me. Creepy, right?

I was working out of state when I felt this urgent need to see a doctor. Got home and found my iron was so low I needed an emergency blood transfusion. Oh, and I was pregnant the whole time. Moms always know!

After a night out, me and my friend (both guys) were walking my female friend to her car. I noticed a guy trailing us, so I told everyone to cross the street with me. He followed. We crossed a second time, stopped and stared at him. When he saw me and my mate weren’t leaving her alone, he took off down a dark alley and hopped a fence. Pretty sure he was waiting for her to be alone.

The trailer hitch malfunctioned and we flipped off the road multiple times. Dad was driving, and sadly he didn’t make it. But my mom, brother, and I walked away without a scratch. Crazy stuff.

I was hit by a lady driving three times the legal limit with my two-week-old baby. Baby was two weeks early, so if I was still pregnant, we both would be gone. The baby slept through the entire accident. The lady didn’t survive.

Went ghost hunting at 16 in an abandoned house. Didn't know squatters were living there. They caught us, locked the doors, and lit the place on fire. We broke a second-story window and jumped into bushes to escape. Talk about spooky and fiery!

I decided to drive home from college around midnight without telling anyone. It’s a 5+ hour trip with no cell phones or open gas stations (90s life!). Ran out of gas at 4 AM in nowhere South Georgia. Five men pulled up, I got in willingly, and they helped me get gas. Could’ve gone really wrong. Glad it didn’t.

In 6th grade, I made a new friend who seemed sad. After school, I went to his house to play video games. His dad suddenly appeared, sat next to me, and started giving me a back massage. He asked me to go to his office and play guitar. Then a voice inside me yelled “Get out NOW!” I ran and never went back. Gut feelings are wild.

My mom and her boyfriend had a fight; he chopped the phone cord with an axe as she tried to call for help. We ran and hid in a dark barn while he prowled around with a flashlight. I’ll never forget the scary flashlight beam moving on the barn wall while Mom covered my mouth.

Stopped at a green light while my friend yelled at me to go. Cars honked and I hesitated. A semi lost its brakes and blasted through seconds later. I would’ve been toast if I’d moved.

I survived Hurricane Andrew. Imagine everything getting sucked into your TV like in Poltergeist, but it’s actually multiple tornadoes ripping your house apart for hours. Intense doesn’t even start to cover it!

Survived New Orleans during Katrina. Enough said.

I’m 24 and dealing with a neurological autoimmune disorder eating away at my muscles, nerves, and tendons. Still figuring out the exact diagnosis, but hey, I'm fighting like a champ.

Two men tried to abduct my sister and me. We ran through parking garages and climbed fences in heels downtown until we found a cop. Out of breath and freaked out, we ran to him—but he said, 'I don't see anyone chasing you.' Totally surreal.

Had a ruptured ectopic pregnancy without knowing it (deadly stuff). Stayed in pain until the next day, saw a doctor, then sent home with antibiotics. But as I left, a new ultrasound tech arrived, looked at my scan horrified, and I got emergency surgery within the hour. Talk about a lucky break!

I swam at a lifeguard-less beach in Maui and went too far out (I’m a great swimmer, I promise). I treaded water for 45 minutes trying to get back. It took every ounce of energy to make it ashore.

A guy pretending to be a cop tried to get me into the back of his car. Spoiler: I didn’t go. Walked away fast.

Went snowmobiling in Colorado, got lost in whiteout snowstorms, and had no cell reception. Just me, the snow, and panicky survival instincts.

I got bitten by a baby copperhead snake. Since it was tiny, it gave me ALL its venom. Had to spend two days in the hospital. Yikes!

I had a gut feeling not to take the highway to get somewhere and to go the long way instead. Nope, ignored it. Ended up getting rear-ended. Oops.