Shadowing Practice: 3 TRUE Horror Stories Animated - Learn English Speaking with Video

Hi, my name is Sarah.

I'm writing this email because something really strange happened to me.

I live in India and this happened about two years ago when I was 16.

I live with my parents and two older brothers.

In our neighborhood, there are only about 10 houses built in the same style, two-story houses.

My parents and I sleep on the first floor and my brothers sleep on the second.

So it was just like any other morning.

I woke up and my mom and older brother, Allie, were talking in another room.

They were loud, but I didn't really pay attention.

I was brushing my teeth and getting ready for school when my brother came into my room and jokingly said, Want to see a ghost?

Come here!

I was so confused and a little creeped out.

He walked to my parents' room and pointed to the window.

Look!

There was a huge road in front of our house

and I saw a man standing in the middle of it wearing a shawl It was winter

and the fog was thick outside making it hard to see

He was looking to the left where there were bushes

and dense trees It looked like a small forest My mom was terrified having never seen him in our neighborhood

But I thought he was waiting for someone We watched him for about 10 minutes

And what really gave me the creeps was that he just kept staring at the bushes without moving a muscle.

Then we shrugged and started getting ready for the day.

My older brother, Asad, used to always take me to college on his scooter.

And as we were leaving, I saw the man standing in the middle of the road, still facing the bushes.

My brother passed him and I watched him closely for a few seconds.

He was wearing white pajamas and a light brown kurta.

His shawl was off white and covered him from head to knee.

I could only see his eyes and when my eyes met his, a shiver ran through my body.

I could only see his eyes, but I could tell he was smiling and his smile seemed to be a wide grin.

I got goosebumps.

During the ride to college, I kept wondering, is he smiling at me or is he smiling at something in the bushes?

Once I got there, I quickly forgot about it and focused on my day.

I left the university around 3 p.m and rode home on a three-wheeler, a vehicle similar to a taxi.

I was on my phone the entire ride and as I neared home, I thought of the man.

I looked outside and saw the same man still standing there in the same position.

The thought of him standing there for eight hours in the winter without moving a muscle was mind-boggling.

I was horrified.

The driver was driving in the opposite direction, so I couldn't see his face, only his back.

I wondered if he was still smiling.

I went home, ate, and slept.

I woke up around 10pm, the time my dad usually gets home from work.

My mom and I were talking about the day, and I had completely forgotten about the man.

Then my dad arrived and told my mom he had been standing there since morning.

I ran to the window and sure enough he was there staring at the bushes not moving a muscle

Before coming home my dad went to the man

and asked him why he'd been standing there all day

But he didn't say anything We were all so confused as to why he'd been standing there all day

Especially in the winter

After dinner before bed my dad told us to lock all the doors

and windows He didn't usually say that so I figured it was about the man

I locked everything and double-checked to see if he was still there

and to my surprise he was We went to bed

and the next morning I was eating breakfast and watching TV

when I suddenly remembered the man I looked out the window

and he was gone He hasn't been seen since We were all horrified by it

but after a few days we all collectively forgot about it I asked countless questions like why was he standing there?

Why was he staring at the bushes?

Was there something in the bushes?

But we never got any answers and the man standing outside still remains a mystery.

It was a normal cool evening.

My mom and I were heading to Kohl's to buy some new clothes for me since I had outgrown my old ones.

We walked in and at first nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

At one point I grew bored of looking at clothes, so I told my mom I was going to explore the store on my own.

She nodded and told me to stay close.

As I wandered off, I noticed a woman.

She was dressed in all black with long black hair.

And she was staring right at me.

Her eyes were wide open.

Black eyeliner streaked down her face.

Her eyes were so wide it looked unnatural.

A wave of fear hit me.

I frantically looked around for my mom.

When I couldn't find her, panic started to set in.

Then, I turned back.

The woman was even closer, smiling.

That same unsettling, creepy smile.

I was so scared I couldn't even think straight.

I didn't have a phone, so there was no way to call my mom for help.

quickly, I darted into the clothing racks, trying to hide.

Then, a hand grabbed my shoulder.

I stifled a scream and spun around.

It was my mom.

Relief washed over me, even as she scolded me for running off, but her words barely registered.

My mind was locked on the woman.

The woman could still be out there, watching, waiting.

Then, my mom's tone shifted.

Her face grew more serious.

She asked if I had seen a woman with long black hair and wide eyes.

My heart skipped a beat.

She had just described the exact woman I'd seen.

I told her yes, that I had seen her and that I was terrified.

My mom nodded.

She quickly paid for our things and we left.

Nothing happened after that, but the image of her never left me.

Her eyes, her wide smile, even now, it still gives me chills.

My name is Zama and I'm from South Africa.

In August of 2024, something terrifying happened to us.

I live in a two-bedroom apartment in a block of flats with my nine-year-old daughter Coco.

One Sunday at 2.30am, we were fast asleep with all the lights off as we usually are.

100

Then I suddenly woke up to the sensation of someone reaching for my tablet right beside me.

101

At first I thought it was my daughter Coco.

102

She often grabs the tablet when she can't sleep.

103

But then I realized something was very wrong.

104

There was an unknown man in our apartment.

105

I'm a light sleeper, especially where my daughter is concerned.

106

So I screamed as loud as I could and grabbed him.

107

I think my sudden reaction made him freeze for a moment.

108

He already had my iPhone in his hand, the one Coco had been using earlier that evening.

109

We started fighting and as we struggled, we both fell on top of my daughter who was still asleep.

110

I was terrified, thinking if he overpowered me, he'd go for her next.

111

I pushed him out of my room and into the living room.

112

I was just trying to get him out.

113

In a panic, I grabbed pots and pans and threw them at him, anything I could find.

114

Finally, he backed away, opened the door and ran out.

115

I was in shock, thinking the door must have been unlocked, but later discovered he had crept in through the bathroom window.

116

We live on the second floor and I never thought to lock that window.

117

I assumed it was safe.

118

He was skinny enough to step on the balcony rails and squeeze through the burglar guards.

119

Once inside, he unlocked the front door so he could escape quickly if he needed to.

120

Despite my screams, none of my neighbors came to help.

121

They called later to say they'd heard something, but hadn't come down.

122

I was devastated, but at least I managed to cancel my bank cards on Apple Pay before any payments went through.

123

We don't live in that apartment anymore.

124

We're okay, but we're scared of living alone for now.

125

A few days later, we found out there was a group of thieves targeting homes in our area.

126

I was the only person who woke up during the break-in.

127

Others lost much more valuable items.

128

Two days after our incident, one of the thieves was found dead in the morning.

129

I don't know whether it was the same man who entered our apartment, and honestly, I don't much care.

130

They chose that life.

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This B1 speaking lesson is built on the video “3 TRUE Horror Stories Animated”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: mom, standing, bushes, eyes, window. This video has 130 sentences and 1528 words to shadow. The speech runs for 8:56. The speaker talks at a natural 171 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 82% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.

Key vocabulary in this video

The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
terrify verb	/ˈtɛɹɪfaɪ/	To frighten greatly; to fill with terror.
stare verb	/stɛɚ/	To look fixedly (at something).
creep verb	/kɹiːp/	To move slowly with the abdomen close to the ground.
scream verb	/skɹiːm/	To cry out with a shrill voice; to utter a sudden, sharp outcry, or shrill, loud cry, as in fright or extreme pain; to screech, to shriek.
horrify verb	/ˈhɒɹɪfaɪ/	To cause to feel extreme apprehension or unease; to cause to experience horror.
shawl noun	/ʃɔːl/	A square or rectangular piece of cloth worn as a covering for the head, neck, and shoulders, typically by women.
nod verb	/nɑd/	To incline the head up and down, as to indicate agreement.
thief noun	/ˈθiːf/	One who carries out a theft.
unlock verb	/ʌnˈlɑk/	To undo or open a lock or something locked by, for example, turning a key, or selecting a combination.
cloth noun	/klɒθ/	A fabric, usually made of woven, knitted, or felted fibres or filaments, such as used in dressing, decorating, cleaning or other practical use. Sometimes…
tablet noun	/ˈtæblət/	A slab of clay, stone or wood used for inscription.
scare verb	/skɛɚ/	To frighten, terrify, startle, especially in a minor way.
panic noun	/ˈpænɪk/	Overwhelming fear or fright, often affecting groups of people or animals; (countable) an instance of this; a fright, a scare.
boggle verb	/ˈbɒɡ.əl/	(literally or figuratively) to stop or hesitate as if suddenly seeing a bogle.
burglar noun	/ˈbɝɡlɚ/	A person who breaks in to premises with the intent of committing a crime, usually theft.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
wake up verb	/ˌweɪk ˈʌp/	To stop sleeping; to awake.
back away verb		To move in a direction opposite to that which one is facing, keeping one's attention on the thing in front being avoided.
come down verb		To descend, fall down, collapse.
find out verb		To discover, as by asking or investigating.
go through verb		To travel from one end of something to the other.
light off verb		To light the fire on a gas boiler to turn it on.
look out verb		To be vigilant and aware often as an imperative to alert a person to danger.
run off verb		To flee or depart quickly.

Sentences worth repeating

Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:

They were loud, but I didn't really pay attention.
I was so scared I couldn't even think straight.
Then, my mom's tone shifted.
She had just described the exact woman I'd seen.
We don't live in that apartment anymore.

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	was terrified · was horrified · been seen
Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing	person who woke · man who entered
Past continuous was/were + -ing — an action in progress at a moment in the past	were talking · was brushing · was looking
Verb + -ing enjoy, keep, stop… + -ing — verbs that are followed by the -ing form	kept staring · started getting · kept wondering

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 23 contractions and reduced forms, such as didn't, couldn't, don't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “th” sounds: thief /ˈθiːf/, cloth /klɒθ/
The “sh” and “zh” sounds: shawl /ʃɔːl/, shiver /ˈʃɪvɚ/, sensation /sɛnˈseɪʃən/, brush /bɹʌʃ/
Long words — get the stress right: overpower /oʊ.vɚˈpaʊ̯.ɚ/, devastated /ˈdɛv.əˌsteɪ.təd/

How to practise with this video

Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like terrify, stare, creep.

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

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