7 Hair-Raising HR Horror Stories to Tell Around the Campfire

As the nights grow chilly and Halloween stores start to pop up in every vacant building, you know it’s spooky season! But before the trick-or-treaters start knocking, we’re ditching the movie marathon and going straight to the source of true terror — horrific HR stories.

From the creepy to the cursed, we’ve conjured up seven scary stories ripped right out of a hiring manager’s worst nightmares.👻

7 of the scariest HR horror stories

1. The pajama phantom
2. Invasion of the body snatcher
3. The barefoot bigfoot
4. The telekinetic locksmith
5. The hire-happy AI
6. The monstrous mix-up
7. The angry applicant

1. The pajama phantom

As the leader of a fully remote B2B company, DesignRush, Gianluca Ferruggia has had his fair share of bizarre Zoom interviews. But this one takes the cake. Or should we say candy?

“We had a candidate who said he couldn't use video due to internet issues. Midway through our call, his camera suddenly turned on. He was in his pajamas, sitting casually with a box of popcorn,” Gianluca recalls.

The candidate seemed completely unaware that his video was on. And when Gianluca brought it up, he tried to laugh it off. 

“What I learned from this is that sometimes, even when you're flexible and give candidates the benefit of the doubt, it doesn't always work out as intended,” Gianluca explains. 

All the accommodations in the world can’t help a candidate who simply isn’t prepared. And that’s the stuff HR manager nightmares are made of. 

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2. The barefoot bigfoot

Once upon a time, Eliot Vancil, CEO of Fuel Logic, hired a truck driver and got a cryptic coworker instead. With a solid resume and great references, this delivery driver seemed like the perfect fit. But the next day, disaster struck.

“They wore flip-flops to their first day of work and said they ‘preferred driving barefoot,’” says Eliot. Aside from the ick factor, driving barefoot is not a best practice when working with big fuel trucks. But after being told about the safety risks, they disappeared…never to return.

“What did I find out? Always go with your gut, but make sure of everything. You should always do the final, in-person check to see how skilled a candidate is, no matter how perfect they seem. Since then, we've focused more on our safety rules and instruction process,” Eliot explains.

In the wild world of hiring, you have to be ready for anything – even flip-flop-clad truck drivers.

3. The invasion of the body snatcher

As the owner and director of Empower Wills & Estate Lawyers, Oliver Morrisey takes plenty of hiring precautions given the sensitive nature of the job.

One of the biggest safeguards? Clearly defined job expectations. But even with the strongest guardrails, some candidates aren’t always what they seem. 

“After an extensive interview process, we thought we had found the perfect [paralegal] candidate—highly qualified, polished in the interviews, and seemingly well-versed in estate law. However, when the candidate started, it was almost as if a different person had shown up.” 😱

They started sending completely irrelevant legal documents to clients, confusing wills with divorce proceedings, and misfiling critical estate paperwork.

“What made it even scarier was the fact that these errors could have had serious financial and emotional repercussions for our clients. Trust is critical in this line of work, and a single misstep can undermine everything we’ve built with our clients over the years,” Oliver notes.

In the end, they had no choice but to fire their new hire and tighten up their training and onboarding. The good news? Hiring doesn’t seem nearly as spooky anymore.

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4. The telekinetic locksmith

Eli Itzhaki, the CEO and founder of Keyzoo, knows a thing or two about opening a locked door. But when hiring for a senior locksmith position, he had a brush with the paranormal. 

“He had the right experience on paper, and he was even early for the appointment. But once we got into the interview, things took a bizarre turn. He started explaining how he had spent the last few years developing a ‘supernatural’ locksmithing technique that he claimed could open any lock using his mind alone,” Eli recalls.

Now, we’re always open to innovative methods, but this sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie. And when Eli asked for a demonstration, the candidate just sat there, staring intensely at a lock for about 15 minutes. 

“Needless to say, it didn’t budge. This was one of those moments where you’re not just questioning the candidate’s fit for the role, but also their grasp on reality,” says Eli. “I had to politely wrap up the interview, but it was a stark reminder that no matter how thorough you think your hiring process is, you can’t always predict what will walk through your door.” 

Wannabe telekinetics included. 🧠

Since this incident, Eli and the team added a hands-on skills test as part of the initial screening. This way, they can get a better sense of whether someone has the practical knowledge before they come in for a face-to-face interview. 

“It’s helped weed out some of the more, let’s say, unconventional applicants,” Eli laughs.

5. The hire-happy AI

As the head of operations at digital infrastructure publication Dgtl Infra, Mary Zhang and her team are at the forefront of tech. But when they implemented an AI-driven hiring tool to revolutionize their recruitment process, things went haywire…haunted robot style.

“The AI was supposed to scan resumes and schedule interviews with top candidates. Instead, it started inviting everyone – and I mean everyone – for interviews. We're talking retired dentists, teenage babysitters, even a few pets whose names were mentioned in cover letters,” Mary recalls.

Their HR team spent an entire week frantically calling back hundreds of confused applicants, explaining the mix-up. But here’s the kicker:

One of the accidental invitees turned out to be a brilliant software engineer who helped fix the bug! 🙌🏻

“[Now, we] don't blindly trust AI without human oversight. We now have a robust system of checks and balances, combining AI efficiency with human judgment. It's increased our hiring success rate by 40% while keeping the surprises to a minimum,” explains Mary.

6. The monstrous mix-up

Zach Dannett, co-founder of spillproof rug company, Tumble, experienced a serious case of candidate confusion when interviewing a potential content strategist.

“The interview started off well, discussing content trends and how video was the next big channel. However, something felt slightly off when we started talking about SEO. When we asked about their approach to creating a cohesive content calendar across multiple platforms, the candidate looked puzzled,” Zach recalls.

Then, he realized they had been talking about two totally different roles the entire time.

“Apparently, there were multiple openings listed, including one for a video editor, and the candidate had mixed up the job descriptions. It was an honest mistake, but it derailed the entire interview,” says Zach.

Since then, he and his hiring team have made it a point to clarify the specific position they’re looking to fill at the beginning of each interview. It not only saves time, it also cuts down on those frighteningly awkward moments. 

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7. The angry applicant

As the managing director of VIQU IT Recruitment, Matt Collingwood has sat through his fair share of interviews. But when beverages started flying, Matt knew this was no normal interview.

“The interviewer's opening question was to ask the candidate what they knew about the role. Quite a straightforward, easy question you would think. The candidate responded with ‘I don't know, that's why I'm here.’ The interviewer then asked, ‘Okay, well what do you know about the business?’, to which the candidate again said she knew nothing,” Matt explains.

Weird, huh? But it doesn’t stop there.

“The interviewer remarked that maybe she should have been more prepared for the interview, this unfortunately was the wrong thing to say. The candidate then proceeded to throw her water and paper at us then stormed out!” 

Talk about a bad impression!

Don’t let hiring horror stories haunt your business

At Breezy, we know hiring isn’t for the weak-kneed. HR professionals need a strong stomach, and even stronger processes to meet their recruitment needs.

When you’re ready to exorcize your hiring process and eliminate bad hires, Breezy has your back. We’re the candidate-friendly applicant tracking system that automatically posts your open roles to all the top job boards, seamlessly integrates your background checks, and uses AI to identify top candidates…without the spooky mishaps. 

Try Breezy free for 14 days and lay your hiring fears to rest!