Pranks. Are. Not. Funny. Not all of them, anyway. While some of you might frown and disagree, many people would nod their head in approval, especially those who’ve been subjected to a not-so-funny prank themselves.

Take this redditor’s story, for instance. When her brother’s fiancée made it her life’s mission to scare the OP’s husband, it didn’t take long for her to attempt a jump scare at him. However, instead of frightening the man, she got frightened herself after her prank went wrong. Scroll down to find the full story below.

Some pranks are not only not funny, but can also lead to seriously detrimental outcomes

Image credits: wirestock /envato (not the actual photo)

This woman put on a mask and set to scare the guy that was hosting her, but her prank quickly went wrong

Image credits: Kaboompics.com / pexels (not the actual photo)

The OP provided more information, clarifying certain points in her story

Image credits: NaturalGrocery3159

A prank can have a long-lasting effect on the person on the receiving end

While there are some innocent pranks that can not only be funny but even bring people closer together (that is, if they share a similar sense of humor), many practical jokes end in someone being hurt or terrified. And that can have long-term consequences, turning something seemingly harmless into something that should never be repeated under any circumstances.

Discussing the possible aftermath of pranks in a piece for Psychology Today, a clinical specialist in child and adolescent counseling, Dr. Stephanie A. Sarkis, pointed out that for some people, pranks can trigger past trauma or cause hypervigilance, not to mention humiliate them or reduce the level of trust between the people involved.

According to Sarkis, “Pranks may qualify as a form of emotional or psychological abuse,” which is why it’s important to think long and hard before pranking someone. While doing so, the expert suggests asking yourself certain questions, such as “Has the target of this prank stated they want this behavior to stop, or have they shown distress with any pranks?” or “Could this prank in any way cause harm to a person, either psychologically, physically, or both?” If the answer is yes, it’s probably best to abort the mission and forget about the prank.

More people like to prank others than be pranked themselves

Image credits: Parimal Jain / pexels (not the actual photo)

Whether you hate them or love them, pranks are not a rare occurrence. On the contrary, they are such a prevailing phenomenon nowadays, they even have an entire day dedicated to them. But even on April Fool’s—a day that you know someone will try to prank you—not everyone is fond of that happening.

According to a YouGov poll, close to half of Americans find pranks annoying even on April 1st; those under 30 seem to be the only age group that considers them more comical than annoying. Unsurprisingly, more people like being the prankster rather than the one being pranked; 46% vs 36% of the surveyees respectively.

In the redditor’s story, neither side seemed to be too happy with the prank after it took place. Not only that, their significant others got dragged into it all, too, resulting in a rift between the family members and the OP even considering not coming to her brother’s wedding. The majority of redditors didn’t think that that made her a jerk, though; the netizens shared their thoughts in the comments under the woman’s post.

She also answered some of netizens’ questions in the comments

Most people didn’t think the woman was being a jerk to anyone

Some, however, suggested that she might have been in the wrong about certain things

Poll Question

Thanks! Check out the results:

Newsletter

Subscribe to Access
Exclusive Polls

Subscribe

By entering your email and clicking Subscribe, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Privacy Policy.

Thank you! You've successfully subscribed to newsletters!

Games

View all games

Anyone can write on Bored Panda. Start writing!

Follow Bored Panda on Google News!

Follow us on Flipboard.com/@boredpanda!