Did you know you can get ghosted even after getting an offer?

Hey all, I come bearing a cautionary horror story for you I'll leave the company nameless, but for context they're bigger than a startup but not FAANG; a pretty standard mid-sized company which is profitable on its own. And for context on me, I'm an experienced backend dev (been doing it for well over 10 years, typically at a Senior or Staff level depending on how they're being defined) So I went through a fairly rigorous interview process for this company, which involved a take-home assignment (probably took about 10 hours) and 5 interview sessions, culminating in a call with the CEO. The CEO call ended with him saying "you get the green light from me, looking forward to working together." I was hyped because I actively care about & use this company's product. HR reached out to me the next day to say "hey, so, we're extending you an offer! The salary will be <x>, what start date works for you?" I had questions about both salary and start date, and booked some time for us to jump on a call and make sure we're on the same page. We had our call on a Friday, worked through the details, and she finished by saying "I'll have a formal offer letter to you on Monday!" I went into the weekend excited for the prospects to come. Sure, the pay was a little lower than I'd hoped for, and it seemed higher paced than I really wanted (look man, I'm getting old lol); but I was actively passionate about what they're making, and ready to be a part of that team. Monday came and went, no letter. Tuesday came and went, no letter. Wednesday came, I reached out with a quick "hey just wanted to check in" message to the HR person. **Silence.** The next Wednesday comes, I reach out again with another quick "hey, following up on my last message" email. **Silence.** 2 weeks pass, I follow up with a "hey my supposed start date is coming up fast, should I have signed the contract? are there any details I should be aware of?" **Silence.** 2 days after my supposed start date, I formally withdrew from their process, and never heard anything else from them. I'd turned down other opportunities under the assumption that this was moving forward, and stopped my job search in anticipation of starting this. Please let my nightmare scenario serve as a cautionary tale for you: just because you've been given an informal offer doesn't mean you're guaranteed the position. Has anyone else been through a situation like this?