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When you were growing up, it’s likely that your parents warned you about stranger danger. Don’t talk to any adults that you don’t know, and don’t ever go anywhere without Mom or Dad's permission. If someone offers you candy or asks you to go to their car, run. But as an adult, I have to admit that most of the random encounters I've had with strangers weren't bad at all. In fact, some of them have been quite pleasant!

While the vast majority of people are harmless, there are, unfortunately, some strangers who turn out to be frightening. Redditors have recently been recalling the creepiest encounters they’ve had with people they didn't know, so we’ve gathered their most disturbing stories below. Be sure to upvote the accounts that give you the heebie-jeebies, and remember to be cautious around strangers, just in case!

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#1

30 Internet Users Reveal The Oddest Things That Strangers Have Done Or Said To Them Pretty sure my dog saved me from a dangerous encounter. I was very pregnant and was leaving the grocery store with my cart. Lexi was waiting for me in the car, she loved the car rides when the weather was good. So I was loading up the groceries and realized that a man I had seen sitting in a car before I went into the store was still there and was watching me. He got out of his car and asked if I needed assistance. Which, I get, I was very pregnant, it was the polite thing to do. But something about it immediately put me on alert. I was completely unnerved by him and still can't state exactly what it was. I said no thanks, I've got it but he continued to get out of his vehicle and walk towards my car. Lexi had been snuggled up on the front seat and must have heard there was some concern in my voice or something. Duder continued to walk my direction, claiming he just wanted to help. I continued to say no, I dont need help, no worries. As the man approached the hatch of my vehicle where I was loading the groceries, Lexi sprang up from the front seat, leapt over the back seat, and jumped to the cargo area and started growling and baring her teeth. It was dark and she was an all black dog, so she seemingly appeared from nowhere. That was the only thing that made the dude back up and leave. He started cursing at me, calling me names for not accepting his help, and for me letting my dog threaten him. I will say, thank goodness it was dark because Lexi was a Cardigan Welsh Corgi that was all black and was far less intimidating looking in the daylight. She looked like a black lab puppy but had super short stumpy little legs. She stayed right by my ankles the rest of the night once we were home, would not let me out of her sight.

eczblack , TheDangerBird Report

Final score:
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#2

30 Internet Users Reveal The Oddest Things That Strangers Have Done Or Said To Them Please play along when a woman comes up to you and pretends to know you. It has happened to me. I approached a couple in Target pretending to know them and they walked me to my car as there was a creepy looking dude vulturing and even followed us outside to see what car I drove. Couldn’t be comfortable after that.

Heavy_Imagination592 , Mike Mozart Report

Final score:
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#3

30 Internet Users Reveal The Oddest Things That Strangers Have Done Or Said To Them I used to always shop at this one Target years ago, and I started to notice a man that seemed to always be in the store in the same aisles as me every single time then I started to see him at other places I would be at
The last trip to Target, I was in the CD section and he comes up next to me talking about CDs and something in my gut told me to get far away from him as possible. I left my car and quickly left the store and as I fumbled around for my keys, yes I should have had them out beforehand, someone grabbed me from behind and started to drag me across the parking lot. There were two guys who were in the parking lot at the very front by the store who saw this and started yelling and screaming and running towards us. The man dropped me and got in his car and took off. One of the men got the license plate number and what the police discovered in his car and home still send me into a panic attack to this day. He had essentially a kit in his car with rope, duct tape, etc., and in his home he had hundreds of my pictures hung up on his walls with a cage set up in his basement they suspect was for me. The most creepiest part is that he had a picture of me and my mom from one of those Sears portrait studios from when I was like 5 years old with a note to him on the back of the picture from me. Apparently we lived in the same apartment complex for a short period together and I was a childhood friend (I don't remember him, we moved around a lot).

breakitupkid , Liza Summer Report

Final score:
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Captive
Captive
Community Member
4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

By far the creepiest one so far. Like silence of the lambs creepy

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#4

30 Internet Users Reveal The Oddest Things That Strangers Have Done Or Said To Them I was pregnant with my first child in 2001. Right before my due date (I was obviously really pregnant), I was shopping in Walmart, and I started to notice this woman on every aisle I went on. I would guess she was in her mid 30s.

When I went to the baby section to look at clothes, she started asking me questions, at first they were common, like about the gender. Then the questions started getting strange- was I married, did we have a house or an apartment. She commented on my "accent" and was curious if we had anyone in the area (I am from Michigan and was stationed in Florida) visiting for the birth. Just kind of odd.

I was young, 20, but I was married and my husband and I were both Active Duty, living off base in a rental house. I just told her yes, we were excited and to have a good rest of her day. She then started actually following me, telling me her husband was outside the store and they could help me take my groceries to my house.

That's when I got really nervous. I told her I was fine, thanks, that my husband was home and could help me. She then told me they had a big truck and that she would buy me a large baby item. I politely declined and she was so insistent, becoming aggressive. She then offered to buy my husband a grill, since we didn't need any baby things. I was getting panicky at this point because I knew this lady was not right.

I went to checkout, so did she. She got out before me and I watched her racewalk out of the store and sure enough, she and her husband were pulled along the curb at the front near the pop machines. They were in a beat up old yellow box truck. Husband rolls down the window and says "we'd be happy to help you with that!" I again declined and went to my car.

Loaded up and watched for a minute, they didn't move, just watched me. As soon as I pulled out, they did, too. I hauled a*s out of there and they were only behind me for a minute or two. I still drove around crying for about 30 minutes making sure they were gone before I had to pee and needed to go home. I'm now 44 and that is the first, and one of just a few, times that I have felt that level of fear in my life.

ManitouBears , freestocks Report

Final score:
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#5

30 Internet Users Reveal The Oddest Things That Strangers Have Done Or Said To Them I was 17 and was in NYC. I was going from the hotel to buy some croissants near Times Square.
I already knew NYC quite well, so it was normal for me to do this walk through the city.

As I am walking, I never realised someone was following me until a cop starts rapidly walking towards me from the right and just about as the person following me was about to grab me, the cop grabs his arm and stops him.

My stomach dropped and I just kept on walking just letting the cop do his job.

BMagni , Darya Sannikova Report

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#6

30 Internet Users Reveal The Oddest Things That Strangers Have Done Or Said To Them When I was about 14, my longtime childhood friend and I, both having SUPER strict parents, used to sneak out in the middle of the night during our summer break, just to hang out, walk around town and generally sneak around feeling daring.


One night I went and stood outside her house at the usual time but she didn't show. I eventually gave up and went to walk back home.


About halfway back, a car came down the street towards me. I was on the same side of the road and some instinct told me to cross to the other side. Just as I decided to do so, the car started slowing down. So I crossed, and it sped up again. As it passed me the driver turned his face towards me and gave me a penetrating stare that *chilled* me.


As the street was otherwise completely silent and deserted, I could easily hear this car reach the end of the road, then turn and head back my way. Thinking fast, i waited until he'd almost reached me before running back across to the other side of the road. This time the look he gave me was unmistakably angry. 


He sped up again and as I was just passing a smaller side road I ran down there as fast as I could. I knew there was an alleyway at the other end that I could get home through and he couldn't drive down that way. Again I heard car reach the other end of the road and turn round again. As the sound of the engine approached, I dived behind a parked car.


He came down my side road, driving very, very slowly. Peeking out I caught a glimpse of the driver looking left and right as his car crept along the road. He was clearly looking for me.


As soon as the car had turned a corner out of sight I ran up a nearby gravel driveway that turned out to have a couple of lock-up garages at the other end. By some amazing stroke of luck I found one was unlocked. I slipped inside and pulled the door to, crawled under a tarpaulin in a dark corner and just...waited.


A few minutes later I heard a car door slam.


Then I heard one of the most terrifying sounds I'd ever heard. Footsteps on gravel.


They came to my end of the driveway and just...stood there for a while. I don't even know how he knew I was there as he wouldn't have been able to see me go up there in his rearview mirror unlike he presumably had with the side road, but apparently he did. Eventually he seemed to give up and i heard the footsteps receding back down the drive, then the car door slam and the engine rev up.


I have no clue how long I stayed there under that tarp in the pitch dark with my legs cramping up but it felt like forever. It was morning by the time I got home. This was almost 30 years ago but I can still feel those chills .

tiptoe_only , KoolShooters Report

Final score:
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Kalikima
Kalikima
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Premium 4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

When I was 8 years old, I was walking home with a friend from school. We were walking home on this bike path that ran along this long flash flood culvert. We were just waking, talking, and I noticed this white work van (the kind with no windows in the back) driving past really slowly.. I didn't pay too much attention to it, we kept walking, and then I notice it driving by again in the opposite direction, again really slow. I mention to my friend that I thought they were acting weird, and we start walking faster. But this culvert is miles long, so we still have a ways to go. We're about halfway down the lane when this van drives by a 3rd time. Except this time he slowed down right ahead of us, and stopped. At this point, we were right at the train tracks that ran outside the "village" we lived in (really just a housing development) and we both just booked it for the train tracks. We jumped the brick wall that separated the village from the train tracks, we jumped down, and ran for home.

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#7

30 Internet Users Reveal The Oddest Things That Strangers Have Done Or Said To Them Commented this before, but still valid. Think about it an awful lot for being 20 years ago

Back in highschool I was waiting for my Dad to pick me up

He got stuck at work so he was running late, and I was waiting out front of the main entrance. There were a couple kids hanging around, but they were being systematically picked up

After a bit, an older gentleman (older to me then, now? A rough 40s?) walked across the street and asked if I was Ashley?
"No sorry"
This should have been where it ended

He proceeded to chat, explaining he was there to meet Ashley
Am I sure I'm not Ashley? We met on the Internet
You seem just like her (tbh I'm not sure if there ever was an Ashley now that I think about it)

I was raised, like many young ladies, TO BE POLITE
Thankfully they also taught me to be cautious

So while I didn't feel comfortable calling out the creepiness, I did try to get away.
I tried to go back inside, but the doors were locked

I called my Dad to see where he was and mentioned there were a few kids left, and within range of the guy hearing, I mentioned some guy waiting for a girl. "That's weird, stay away from him" we hangup

He kept trying to make conversation

I walked down to the other side of the school, he soon followed

I ambled back to The last random kids waiting
Eventually it was down to one young man, me and the creep

The young man was being picked up, I followed him to his mom's car, she asked if I was okay, if I knew him, I said I was okay, but no, I didn't know him

She had to go though, she had to get to work.

The man continued to try to talk to me, ask me questions, get me to go down the road with him.

Thank goodness I see my dad's truck in the distance and start walking towards him

I hop in
He sees the man, "that the guy you mentioned? Was he bothering you? You can tell me"
"No, he was just chatting while he waited for Ashley"

*I died a little inside that day, because I had more than a few opportunities to make myself safer. I could have explained fully to my dad either time. (I didn't, legit terrified he would murder him, he would go to jail and my family would be homeless)
I could have called the police
I could have insisted that woman take me down the road to the library

From that night, 20plus years ago to now, I have replayed it over and over thousands of times

But use the information to try to make my nieces more comfortable with advocating for themselves

You can't change your past, but you can change someone's future.

ProperMirror8551 , RF._.studio Report

Final score:
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#8

30 Internet Users Reveal The Oddest Things That Strangers Have Done Or Said To Them I was about 10, getting back home from the park with my sister. She, being the stubborn younger “I need no older sister playing mom to me” sibling walked purposely 20 metres ahead so nobody would even THINK we were together. She rounds the corner, and I hear a blood-curdling scream.

I never covered 20 metres so fast in my life.

I round the corner and there’s a man, holding my sister by her throat, dragging her into an opened car parked nearby.

When he sees me advancing and yelling incomprehensibly (I honestly don’t know what I yelled, I was scared out of my wits) and he realises there’s two of us, he drops her, jumps into the car and drives off.

She had fingerprint-shaped bruises on her throat for days.

SultrySummer4365 , Karolina Kaboompics Report

Final score:
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#9

30 Internet Users Reveal The Oddest Things That Strangers Have Done Or Said To Them I was 16 years old roller skating with my friends at the local teen hangout spot when a mildly attractive young woman approached me and asked for my number. Being a 16 year old boy I was like sure have my number you’re kinda cute. About 20 minutes later she comes back over to me and asks if I wanna leave and hangout somewhere else. At this point she tells me her “brother” (some similar aged guy she was with) will drive us around then bring me home. I was super weirded out and had a gut feeling that wasn’t really her brother (maybe her boyfriend/partner in crime). I told them I already had a ride home from my friends and I was all set. She got angry and insisted I come with them that they’ll get me home safe and I have nothing to worry about. My friends overheard this and came over to say “he’s alright he’s got a ride home”. To this day I still get super anxious about how easily 16 year old testosterone filled me could’ve just left with a random girl and never seen the light of day again.

EExperiencing-Life , cottonbro studio Report

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#10

30 Internet Users Reveal The Oddest Things That Strangers Have Done Or Said To Them There was a guy who would come out and shout at us in the play park for being too loud. We used to be cheeky back and he would end up pointing an air rifle at us. As kids we we found it funny and thought he was full of s**t.


He ended up murdering his wife by bashing her head in with a hammer.

CheetahNervous7704 , Ksenia Chernaya Report

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athornedrose
athornedrose
Community Member
4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

guy in our neighborhood used to do this to the kids who played in the backyards next door to him. 3 year old wandered into his yard accidentally and he fired a warning shot into the air. cops refused to do anything because, in our county, " you can shoot at anything as long as it's on your property". his sister ended up convincing him to move out of the neighborhood. turns out he was a vet who refused ptsd counseling. ended up shooting more people the next place he went.

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#11

30 Internet Users Reveal The Oddest Things That Strangers Have Done Or Said To Them This was in San Jose, CA. I worked at a car dealership and a lady came in to look at a truck, she was going to pay cash. She was wearing expensive jewelry but acted very strange. The whole time I was trying to figure out if she was on d***s...I ultimately decided I wasn't comfortable going on a test drive with her. We were close to closing anyway. There was just something off....so I closed up shop and watched as she wandered through the car lot looking at cars. The next day I see her mugshot on tv. She had bludgeoned to death an older lady with a hammer in the ladies home and robbed her. She committed this crime the night before visiting our dealership. So the jewelry she was wearing...purchasing her get away car...I can't help but feel I got out of that situation with my life. So glad I trusted my gut on that one.

ninmena , Pixabay Report

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#12

30 Internet Users Reveal The Oddest Things That Strangers Have Done Or Said To Them My experience is pretty tame, tbh, but I do still think about it occasionally.

I was either late 12 or had just turned 13 (can't remember, but my birthday is in winter, and that's when this happened) and I was walking to school. The school was about a mile from my house, so it was a decent walk. It was snowy af outside and suddenly a van pulled up in front of me and parked off to the side of the road. I immediately stopped walking, because I'm very suspicious of people. A woman got out of the van and asked me if I wanted a ride because it was so cold out. I immediately got suspicious because most people who ask someone if they want a ride just do it from their window as they're driving by slowly. But this woman parked and got out of her van just to ask me this. It made me feel like she wanted to snatch me and drag me to the van. Like I said, I'd stopped walking and did not take another step closer to the van or her. The van had tinted windows. Another red flag for me. I told her, "No, I'm fine. Thanks for asking though." This wasn't enough though. The woman asked about two or three times. The persistence was super sus. Eventually, I was like, "Look, this walking is really important to me. I get bullied at school for being fat and I'm trying to lose weight. That's why I don't take the bus anymore. So, I walk to school. I really don't want a ride, okay." I said it really forcefully. I didn't give a single sh*t about losing weight. But I was chubby and that's all I could think of to say. She finally gave up and left. I still wonder what would've happened to me if I was a dumb, trusting kid and took the "ride.".

Ceaseless_Duality , Jake Ingle Report

Final score:
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#13

30 Internet Users Reveal The Oddest Things That Strangers Have Done Or Said To Them In high school I worked at a burger joint. Was having a rough day and really wanted to quit my job when a middle aged man came in and bought just a cup. I was cleaning the soda fountain and he came over to get ice in his cup and handed me a business card. He said something about how I deserved better and how they were looking for more young ladies and to give him a call if I was interested in learning more. He then left with his cup of ice, went out to his white van and poured a beer into that cup, and drove away.

Saw his face on the news a few weeks later. He was part of a sex trafficking ring that was busted.

mexihuahua , Andrea Piacquadio Report

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#14

30 Internet Users Reveal The Oddest Things That Strangers Have Done Or Said To Them A few years ago I went to a farmers market event with my mother in law and sister in law. As I was standing at one of the booths looking at something, an old man came up behind me and whispered in my ear “are you being a good girl?” None of us knew who he was. Thinking about it still makes me so uncomfortable!

jmp325 , Mark Dalton Report

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#15

When I was a teen, I worked at a doctor's office. We had a patient, "Charlie" come in. He was a workman's comp case, so he hadn't been a patient before. He was handsome and about 6'5" of pure muscle, but there was something just "off" about him. At first I thought it was me, but when he left after his first appointment, ALL the office staff (all female) felt someting wasn't right about Charlie. We were all so uncomfortable that we talked to the doctor (male) about it and asked if he could be the one to treat Charlie from start to finish. The doctor also got a bad vibe from him too, so he agreed and told the receptionist to schedule him only during busy times so there were a lot of people around.

Charlie came in for his treatments over the course of three months and, other than him just being kind of a strange guy, nothing really happened. He finished his treatments, his lawyer sent some requests for paperwork for WC when he was done and we all thought that was that.

About TWO YEARS later, I was reading the paper and Charlie was arrested for violently raping a woman (and nearly k***ing her in the process). I KNOW it was him because he had an extremely unusual last name and the ages matched up. He was eventually convicted and went to jail (though I don't know for how long).

That was my affirmation that, as a woman, I should always trust my gut.

Madeline73 Report

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Upstaged75
Upstaged75
Community Member
4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I used to be the Administrator at a university for a Master's in IT program geared toward working adults. One day I saw a report on the news about someone who had killed his wife, dismembered her, stuffed her in a suitcase, and thrown her in a field. They showed a picture of the guy and I recognized him as one of the students in our program. He was always super polite but a little shy and awkward. It was crazy to think the same man did something so horrifically violent! I never got any weird vibes from him at all. Scary.

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#16

30 Internet Users Reveal The Oddest Things That Strangers Have Done Or Said To Them I was once really high waiting for the walk light and a guy came up to me at the corner and put a knife to my throat and I just laughed and was like dude and he went you cool and walked away. It didn't even phase me until like 2 hours later and I was like wtf.

SailorGohan , Yusuf Çelik Report

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Jeremy James
Jeremy James
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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I was walking home one night night in New Orleans when a guy grabbed my shoulders from behind and said, "Where's your money!?" I said, "Man, I'm broke as shìt!" And he said, "Oh. Okay." And then he just... left. It was my most cordial mugging to date.

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#17

30 Internet Users Reveal The Oddest Things That Strangers Have Done Or Said To Them Late to the party but I'll tell mine.

I (f) enjoy a beer at a bar by myself from time to time. Either to just be alone, or maybe chat with a bartender if they're feeling social. Occasionally I'll get some unwanted attention, but usually a casual mention of my boyfriend gets folks to buzz off without issue.

One time I was at the little dive bar by my house. A guy sat next to me and started chatting with me. Friendly stuff. Nothing too forward. Didn't even catch his name.

Then he goes:
"You live at (my address), yes? Unit #1, on the corner?"

I lived in an apartment complex. My unit was indeed #1 on the corner. I had never seen this man before. I got a sinking "this isn't good" feeling.

"No" I replied "I'm sorry, you must have me mistaken for someone else."

His demeanor changed immediately. He twisted towards me with this really annoyed look. He responded.

"No. I see you. I ALWAYS see you. You live there."

His tone was this weird mix of frustrated and offended. He was just... glaring at me, waiting for me to respond.

Insert "I'm in danger" Ralph meme.

I bumbled out "nope don't live there" one more time, paid my bill, and bounced.

I was nervous to go home, so I went to a friend's who gave me some pepper spray just in case (not like I would be effective using it but hey it was something)

Thankfully I never saw him again. I moved out of that apartment soon after, which I was already considering but this gave me the push.

My guess/hope was that he lived near by and just lacked social skills, but the way he said "I ALWAYS see you" still gives me chills.

Persist_in_folly Report

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#18

30 Internet Users Reveal The Oddest Things That Strangers Have Done Or Said To Them I was about 10 when my family was staying at a cabin in the mountains in the winter. It was a snowy night and my parents and aunt/uncle had all gone to their bedrooms to sleep. My siblings and cousins and I were all sleeping in the living room.

At some point I was awakened by a chilly draft. When I opened my eyes I saw the front door was slightly cracked and there was a man making eye contact with me. In the middle of the night, in the freezing cold, on the deck of a cabin that was way up the mountain, far removed from town. I screamed for my dad. The man disappeared into the darkness. My dad quickly came to the living room and turned on the porch lights. The man was just standing in the driveway silently looking back at us. He claimed he was just looking for a drink of water.

MultiverseM , Maël BALLAND Report

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Strings
Strings
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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Perfectly natural, walking up to a dark house in the middle of a winter night, to ask for a drink... /s

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#19

30 Internet Users Reveal The Oddest Things That Strangers Have Done Or Said To Them A man outside a bar one night approached my girlfriend and I. He asked if we heard about “the murders in New Brighton.” We of course had not. He went on to explain that his girlfriend had been k***ed. The next morning I saw that he was arrested for k***ing her.

danezone , Kindel Media Report

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#20

30 Internet Users Reveal The Oddest Things That Strangers Have Done Or Said To Them When I lived in a rental property on the west side of Albuquerque many moons ago I had a "census taker" knock on my door. Okay fine, I guess someone needs to do it. He asked me how many people lived in the home, how long I had been there, etc. Then he asked for my social security number as well as my wife's. Umm, no. I don't give my SS# to anyone except the IRS dude. He said "it's the law, you have to provide me with it." "NO I absolutely do not, now please leave." Him: "I'll be back tomorrow." Sure enough he shows up the next day banging on my door and yelling from outside "I know you're home, I know you're in there. I'll be back tomorrow!" He came back a third day knocking on the door and I yelled through the door "I'm calling the police you f*****g psychopath!" Sure enough the police show up 15 minutes later, he's still standing there with his clipboard. The police take his ID, he gets on the radio and comes back 10 minutes later. "Sir, there is no record of you working for the local census. You will need to vacate the premises." Absolutely bizarre experience.

ObjectReport , MART PRODUCTION Report

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#21

30 Internet Users Reveal The Oddest Things That Strangers Have Done Or Said To Them Mine is fairly mild, but was still gross and creepy to me (and made my mom lose her s**t on this dude).

I was around 12 years old, and we were visiting my dad who was working out of town. We were staying in his hotel room, and had ran to a local convenience store for some snacks and things for the room.

As we were standing in line at the checkout, my mom was in front of the cart (at the cashier) and I was behind it. This old man (probably mid-60s or so) came up behind me and said something to the effect of "you've got nice legs". But like, he said it in a suggestive/gross way.

Thankfully, my mom heard it, and went off on the dude.

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Katiekat
Katiekat
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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So glad she went off on him, in public. I am ALL for public shaming of creeps. This is all about power and control. When you can strip some creep of it, go for it. Reclaim your power, take his, leave him having lost face in public. If everyone did this a lot more often, maybe creeps would think before they tried anything. One can hope.

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#22

A friend of mine was out on a nature trail taking his three young kids for a bike ride. His 4-ish-year-old daughter had ridden just a little bit ahead and over a small hill. When my friend crested the hill, he saw a man pulling his daughter off of her bike, attempting to carry her away. That s**t can happen so fast.

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María Hermida
María Hermida
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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In a nature trail, I'd kill the bastard and leave his corpse there in the middle of nowhere so that the animals can dispose of the rubbish. You can bet your life your daughter was not the first little girl he tried to kidnap, nor the last.

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#23

30 Internet Users Reveal The Oddest Things That Strangers Have Done Or Said To Them I commented the following in a post a few years back; seems germane here.

*

I don’t know his real name, but he told me to call him “Mr Tom”. I only spoke with him for half an hour but I’ve never forgotten his horror: he told me he’d spent his 20s travelling the world beating up and torturing prostitutes (and there is no doubt in my mind that he had k***ed, too) until in his 30s he’d discovered that he preferred it when they beat up and tortured him, instead.

His parting phrase stuck with me like a tumour: “Son, I’ve got all the pain money can buy.”

(u/Horus_Syndrome asked: “Was he some type of random psycho you met in a bar or was this just some dude you met on the internet who randomly told you all of his dark secrets in under 40 minutes?”)

When I was 21 I worked in a brothel for six months - not at the sharp end of the business, though: I had talked the boss into letting me edit a promotional magazine for his hotel/casino. Initially I didn’t have an office so used the Internet cafe computers; this guy came over and asked if I could help him print some stuff out - for money, but I couldn’t look at what I was printing.

I said that was impossible as I needed to open it on-screen; he thought about it for a bit and then acquiesced. When I got this stuff up on-screen, it was really really vile: short stories about women being eviscerated, f****d while on fire, being forced to have sex with pigs, all sorts; and some s****y pencil-type drawings to accompany some of the stories. Sick, sick s**t - but fiction, if there’s a silver lining.

As I didn’t immediately jump up in horror and flee (partly because he was paying me about half a week’s wages for ten minutes’ work) he presumably concluded that I was some kind of kindred spirit and began telling me his story. I’ve never hated anyone so profoundly so quickly.

NB: this was in 2001 and he was maybe mid-fifties - so the timeline fits for him to have been in Vietnam for the start of his sadistic endeavours, though he didn’t make that explicit.

jamieliddellthepoet , Luis Quintero Report

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Bartlet for World Domination
Bartlet for World Domination
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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

First of all: ew, and secondly, I learned a new word today: germane means fitting.

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#24

30 Internet Users Reveal The Oddest Things That Strangers Have Done Or Said To Them When I was in 3rd grade I was on a local community service soccer team, and normally parents would be acting as coach and assistant coach but the parent who did the asst coach position was sick that day so community service center sent a random middle aged woman to act as assistant coach for that game.

Well, it also happened to be my best friend at the times (I’ll call her “Milly” for this) birthday that day and so she was having a sleepover party after the game and the whole team was invited. So we were all being normal little girls being super excited and talking nonstop about the sleepover at Millys. And it was about halfway through the game when the assistant coach lady called me over by name and my instincts instantly knew something was off because my stomach dropped.

I went over to her reluctantly and stood a couple feet away but she wiggled her finger to motion me closer to her. She said “closer” again, until I leaned in enough. Then she said “Hey, I just wanted you to know that I’m Millys mom, so you will be coming home with me today after the game. As soon as the game is over, come right with me to my car. Don’t stop to talk to anyone.”

I got suuuuuuch bad vibes. So I clung close to Milly for the rest of the game and then as it ended I said “Milly I’ll explain later but after the game let’s run to your moms car ok?” And thankfully she didn’t question me and we rocketed to her moms car as soon as the final whistle rang out. And I think up til that point I had retained some hope because I didn’t think adults would just lie like that, but when we got in the car a totally different woman turned around and when I asked “wait are you millys mom???” she looked super confused and said “uhhhh yes I am, why?” and I explained what happened while on the drive home to Millys and she was super super concerned and told me to tell my parents the next day. But when I told my parents, they thought I was making it up and didn’t believe me (I was their firstborn so I think they figured kids just lie about that stuff? I don’t really know tbh). My grandmother believed me though and for that I am thankful because I felt very scared and alone and confused because I didn’t understand why that lady would have tried to take me like that.

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#25

30 Internet Users Reveal The Oddest Things That Strangers Have Done Or Said To Them I was going to my friend's house at 13 years old when a man asked me to come over to him. He told me that he was a security guard, that a house had been robbed, and that he needed to confiscate my things. He checked my backpack, felt every inch of my body, and asked me to kiss him to 'forgive him.' As soon as I saw the opportunity, I ran. But it could have been worse. I can still feel his cold hands against my skin.

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#26

When I was in college (in rural Kentucky), I ended up stranded one weekend in Lexington. My sister had dropped me off at the greyhound station before heading to the airport (she’d been visiting me from out of state), and I was going to catch the bus back to my small college town.

Only problem was that it was Sunday, and the regular bus didn’t run that afternoon (this was before smart phones were ubiquitous, so I couldn’t look it up in advance). 

I walked across the street to the Walmart with my duffel bag and sat in the entryway area calling different friends trying to find a ride home, all the while feeling near tears, stressed and tired and just wanting to get home.

Then a man who was exiting the store stopped and stared at me for a few seconds. Mid fifties, grey hair, trucker cap. He said “Do you need a ride?” 

I have never had this experience before or after, but I felt like had a split second psychic intuition and I KNEW that if I went with that man I would end up dead. I just instantly felt it in my bones, like I could see the future. It was terrifying.

I said no, and he tried several more times, but finally left. Thankfully, a friend of a friend  finally gave me a ride (still during daylight hours), and I made it home safely.

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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Always trust your intuition, it will guide you right every time

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#27

30 Internet Users Reveal The Oddest Things That Strangers Have Done Or Said To Them The creepiest encounter I had was when a stranger followed me for blocks, then suddenly stopped, smiled, and said, "We'll meet again." It still gives me chills to think about it.

Aware-Nature4400 , Mental Health America (MHA) Report

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#28

30 Internet Users Reveal The Oddest Things That Strangers Have Done Or Said To Them I used to work at meijer in the deli. A customer came up and asked for my opinion. I recommended all the things I liked and was just super friendly, I guess. He ended up calling the store that night asking for me. The other girl I was working with didn't even offer the phone to me just told him I had left, thank god. He came back the next day and started asking me personal question I was very vague and then started helping other customers. He left, CAME BACK THE NEXT DAY, I had to get management involved. He was standing like behind a pole just watching me. I had to be walked to my car every night for about a month. I would call my boyfriend at the time now husband every night on the way home and lived in an apartment building with another coworker whose husband would literally walk me to my door. Ugh I still feel likes he's watching me sometimes and this was about 4 yrs ago.

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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I was the only girl in a men's store. Had one guy who would ignore the other workers and beeline for me. Got to the point when we saw him coming the guys would cut him off so I could go hide in the back.

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#29

30 Internet Users Reveal The Oddest Things That Strangers Have Done Or Said To Them I was a registered massage therapist for seven years and had just opened my own practice. I was renting space at a clinic and there were other practitioners who would often cross refer clients for other services. One of the ND's clients asked her for my work schedule, because he was wanting to book a massage. This happened to be the same man who would stare at me in such a way from the waiting area that I would have to close my office door.

After receiving my contact details, he called me directly while I was at home with my partner and began asking me questions like if I were single or if I have a husband and when do I work alone, because that's when he would prefer to come for his appointment. This automatically gave me bad vibes, so I told him I'm never alone (false) and that I was actually booking quite far out in my calendar so he'd be better off booking elsewhere. I thought this had deterred him, however the next time he was at the clinic he booked in with me via the receptionist.

He came into my treatment room while I was doing notes, shut the door behind him, and demanded I write my hours down on one of my business cards so he could cross examine them in person with those of the clinic. I told him I was in the middle of notes and if he were really this interested in knowing my schedule that he could look at my website. He then told me he had scheduled an appointment with me for the following week and that he was "so excited". He was giddy when he was saying this, and I started to freeze. I got up from my desk to walk him towards the door, but instead he took a step towards me and started trying to make out with me. He told me I'm just "so beautiful" that he couldn't believe he had gotten an appointment with me. That's when I realized this man thought I was a sex worker and that this clinic was a massage parlor. I panicked, but not before he began running his hands all over my body and tried pinning me to my massage table. I managed to fight him off of me and he exited the room so nonchalantly, telling me to have a good day and that, again, he was "so excited" for our appointment.

From here, I called the police. I explained to them what had happened, they instructed me to keep his scheduled appointment, and they showed up and arrested him right outside my office door. He was charged and found guilty of sexually attacking me. Before his arrest, he was calling me multiple times each night and just breathing heavily into the phone. I was able to get a restraining order from him, and just ask quickly as he entered my life he was gone. I did find out from the police officer working my case that this man owned a nail salon, so the police suspected there was forced sex work happening there with the nail techs who were immigrants and relying on this man for their work permits. I'm not sure what came of that, but he and his wife still operate their nail salon in a local mall.

muddertung , Pixabay Report

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Anna Ekberg
Anna Ekberg
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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

He belongs in jail, with the wife. They are both human traffickers.

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#30

30 Internet Users Reveal The Oddest Things That Strangers Have Done Or Said To Them I was outside playing with my cat in my yard when I was 3 when this stranger stopped his van on our rural road and came over to me. My cat freaked out and hissed at him, which scared me so I ran inside to get my Mom. When she came outside, the dude claimed to be a neighbor (it was a very small town and my Mom didn't recognize him so he was definitely not a neighbor), apologized for scaring me and claimed he just wanted to tell me what a nice cat I had (yeah, right!) then he left.

I always remembered that experience because it seemed so odd and creepy even as a kid. Found out as an adult that a young girl had been kidnapped 10 minutes away from my house around 4-5 years before this happened. The only lead was a strangely painted van parked near her school bus stop that was the last time anyone saw her. She disappeared in 1985 and unfortunately still has never been found. I've always wondered if I'd unknowingly been face to face with Cherry Mahan's presumed murderer.

Either way, I don't think the strange guy in the van had good intentions because what 20-30 year old dude is going to stop his van on the road to compliment a little girl's cat? So I probably owe my cat for saving me from an abduction or worse because I was too young and sheltered to grasp stranger danger. The only thing that gave me a bad feeling about this dude was my cat's reaction which makes me incredibly grateful my Dad had let me keep the stray cat that showed up on our porch a few months before this. I definitely think I had a guardian angel looking out for me that day because it was only my cat's reaction that raised the red flag. I totally think he could've lured me to his van if my cat hadn't gotten so protective.

For a long time, I thought the whole experience had been a recurring nightmare or something because it seemed so cliche for a creepy guy in a white van to approach a little girl alone in her yard, but my Mom remembers it happening and she did speak to him that day, though she was naive and truly believed the guy was just a neighbor even though she never saw him in town before or after this.

AnericanSteel412 , satemkemet Report

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#31

I was walking our dogs mid-morning (like 9:30/10am) when a random car pulls up beside me and asks if I’m single. I had to pull a headphone out to hear them and only even stopped because any time that’s happened before someone just commented on how cute the dogs are. I tell this guy no, I’m not and he says “oh okay, well you have a really nice a*s”. I don’t even reply, just roll my eyes and walk away/put my headphone back in and he drives off.

This f****r proceeded to do laps around the park following us. I tried hiding behind some bushes until he left. I thought he’d finally gone and started walking home when he pulled up behind me again and rolled down his window. Idk what he was even saying because I just talked over him saying “No, no, no just leave me alone. Go away. I don’t want to talk to you.” He drove off again. I got his license plate and decided to call the police.

He continued to drive past me at least 4 more times while I was on the phone with the police and they had to escort me home. I completed avoided that route from then on, but he lived nearby unfortunately so I did see him drive by 3 more times weeks or months later.

Made me feel so unsafe in our own neighborhood. Luckily we moved out of state eventually. My husband has since informed me that he found where the guy lived and worked and would run by the house and keep an eye on him, but never did actually speak to him.

Men. Leave us the f**k alone.

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Bored Trash Panda
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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You should never have both your headphones in when walking alone. If you do have both in, keep them at a low enough volume that you can hear everything around you.

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#32

I was on a train late at night by myself. I found myself alone in the the section and was zoning off with my headphone on. I luckily saw two guys crawling down the next section through the glass door because one of them had picked his head up for a split second. We were approaching a stop at a parking lot when i had parked. I acted like i didn’t see them and was patiently waiting for the train to stop. As soon as the doors were about to close i jumped out the door and ran to my car. I looked back and saw them both stand up when they realized i jumped out. F*****g creepy.

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#33

30 Internet Users Reveal The Oddest Things That Strangers Have Done Or Said To Them My SO went mountain biking back in a large area of power lines and woods and fields. So I took the 2 dogs- one white lab chow mix and one wolf husky mix. He went way ahead and I got my stuff together and went in to walk.

I was walking and 2 sketchy guys come driving up in a pickup out of nowhere. They asked if I knew "how to get to blah blah" and didn't know what they meant and I said no. But a bunch of guy are in here doing mountain bike racing, so I'm sure you'll see them and they might know.

That was completely untrue. But both dogs, the adult and the 8 month old wolf hairs all stood up, and I had NEVER seen my adult dog do that.

The one in the passenger seat was the talker and started to ask a few more questions that didn't really mean anything. The adult dog low growled.

The driver started saying something in the background like: "come on man just do it dude come on let's just get it dude why are you sitting" in a muffled voice.

The talker said where are they and I said I think just over the hill bc this is the spot they marked as the finish line. Every hair on my own body felt stiff.

He sort of swatted at the driver and said dude just drive and we'll go turn around.

I immediately went as fast as I could to a trail I saw ahead and to the right and I dipped into the brush as far as I possibly could. Shaking. The dogs hairs both all up at the same time.

I sat there, they turned around and drove very very slowly looking around. I was an experienced backpacker so I was decently able to make myself and dogs not visible in the woods.

They got out and stood around looking.

Then left.

My partner finally came by about 35 minutes later and I still had not stopped shaking.

He didn't understand why.

I don't know how I thought up to say a bunch of guys were racing and that we were standing at the finish area, I'm glad I did.

I still, 30 yrs later, feel like I want to tell that story to the police in town. Just in case there was ever something else. But I really cannot for the life ofe come up with any description, other than both white and both gave me and 2 dogs the chills.

I'm glad I really was there with him though, bc if I was alone they'd likely have been waiting at my car, and it was a semi secluded access spot to the area.

slickrok , Darcy Lawrey Report

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#34

It was a sunny Sunday. We slept until like 8am, opened the front door and let the dogs out to sniff around the garden and pee. I cooked coffee in the kitchen, still in my pyjamas, and chatted with my husband. Right when I was pouring the hot water over the coffee powder in the French Press, we heard our eldest dog bark like crazy. Then we heard the garden gate (it‘s made of metal so quite loud if closed with force) and the barking got even crazier. I still remember how both husband and I froze, looking at each other before we both rushed out of the front door.
I was first and ran into a guy, who was about to walk further into the garden and stopped when I came out, turning to me. I connected the dots and realised he had planned to go after our dog, who was nowhere to be seen and who obviously had fled into the garden. The guy was dressed into a wife-beater shirt that he had already sweated through, tattoes all over. He had a sledgehammer in one hand. A knife in the other hand.
As soon as my eyes fell on the knife, my brain went empty and all I could think of was to get this dude off our property. So I did the only thing I could think of - I started talking. And basically managed to talk this guy out of our home. I can no longer remember what I said or what I thought, but it worked. He told me he had personal issues and that his life was in shambles, some sad story about his aunt.
As soon as he was out of the garden gate and went his way, my husband called the cops. He tried to flee but one of their dogs caught him. We learned later that he was full on d***s.

Later, we discovered that he had already hit our dog at least once with the sledgehammer. That‘s why our sweet, protective baby fled into the garden. The vet said that if the guy had hit one of our smaller dogs that day, they‘d have been dead. But our eldest dog had like 80 pounds and was lucky that he was „only“ hit between rib cage and hip. So fleshy area.

My husband later told me that he had been terrified of me getting k***ed. Because I was so close, he saw no safe way to intervene and get me out of the way without the dude losing it completely.

Throughout that day, I was in a strange disbelief. As if I narrated a story. The next day, I snapped. I suddenly realised how freaking dangerous the whole incident had been and couldn’t stop crying. Also, it took me years to again feel safe at home and to this day, I have a strange feeling when opening the front door for the dogs.

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#35

30 Internet Users Reveal The Oddest Things That Strangers Have Done Or Said To Them Doesn't really give me chills but was quite creepy.  


 I was leaving a club with my friend and happened to walk out at the same time as two very very drunk young women. They were so drunk one of them kept saying "where is my phone I've lost my phone" until she realised it was half wedged into her top. They started talking to us and I decided to make sure they got home safe. They didnt want to pay for an uber and wanted to walk home despite not being able to walk and not being able to operate their phones. I insisted that they order it and did it for them. I also decided to wait to order mine because they were extremely vulnerable and unwise, probably recently 18.  


 While this is happening, a very sketchy looking dude with a weird look in his eye comes up to us. He asks us if we want to go to an after party and mentions his uber is on the way. I politely refuse for all of us and he kinda hangs around looking at the girls and looking toward the entrance of the club. His 'uber' (van style people carrier with a sliding door) pulls up, he opens the door and says nothing to the driver. Suggests we come to the party again. Waits for an uncomfortable amount of time and realises we are not going to come. Closes the 'uber' door without saying anything to the driver. And the 'uber' drives off. He then makes his way back up to the club.  


 He was in the club that night and probably followed the women out but unfortunately for him they got talking to me.

EL-Chapo_Jr , Michael Discenza Report

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DarkViolet
DarkViolet
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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

But fortunate for the ladies. So tell me: is that suit of shining armor really heavy? 😉

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#36

I was down the shore with my friend, playing skeeball on a rainy beach day. We were the only ones in this little arcade except for this guy. He came over and started talking to us, putting quarters in the machine, and winning us a bunch of tickets. We got ready to walk back to her house, and the guy called me over and asked me if I would like to have dinner with him. I was eleven. He was in his 30s. Seriously scared the s**t out of me.

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#37

A lifetime ago when we used to hitchhike to the beach , my girlfriend and I got into a limo who stopped to pick us up on queens blvd . It was older and not really great looking but we didn’t think anything of it we were excited to get a ride in a big comfy car ( we were 15 ) we pile in the back and the dude says hell and we’re are we going ? We tell him Rockaway , and he says holy s**t I’m headed there now . To our credit we both looked at each other like that sounded off . Usually you’d get a ride only half way cause it’s kinda a big right turn off that route . We started noticing that the guy was really … dirty . Then I noticed that the door handles in the back were missing. I was big for my age , and super long hair (almost to my waist) I looked a lot older than I was . I basically told the guy if he didn’t let us out at the next light I’d come through to partition and beat his a*s to a pulp . He tried a whole lot of “hey man just be cool , let’s smoke this joint .” I told him next light or I start tearing the car apart . He hits a button and doors unlock, I push Mary out and follow her . The dude had something planned and it wasn’t good .

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#38

When I was 8 & in the 3rd grade (1994) I was walking to the bus stop ( my apt complex was technically zoned for another school so it took a few minutes longer), a man who looked just like Chris Farley said, "I hate Mondays, don't you ?" I remember he had a yellow letterman jacket on (I don't know if it was an actual school one or more likely a name brand one .) I said , "yes" because he seemed friendly enough and he just kept walking with me as I walked to the bus stop while he said a few other normal enough sentences. All of a sudden he has his p****s out and asked if I'd like to touch it . I said no thank you & shook my head. Then he asked me , an 8 year old , if, quote, "well, then can I take your pants down and lick your pu**y?" I again said no. He said, "ok, then , have a nice day !" And left . We were still in my complex. I didn't know what to do and didn't even think of going home , so I still walked to my bus stop , rode the bus as normal , then went immediately to the office bawling my eyes out. I told the office what happened, my parents were called , the police were called . I showed my parents and the police where it happened in the complex & a couple of other times my stepdad tried to walk with me to look for the creep. I took an alternate route to the bus stop after that , crossing in front of the complex as opposed to through the complex. One time(the only other time ) a couple of months later when I was playing with some friends on that side of the complex though (I would never go alone on that side anymore) I actually saw him drive by . Sick mf smiled and waved at me in the fake friendly manner he used when he first talked to me , like as if he hadn't traumatized me. Unfortunately he was leaving and all I could tell was that he was obviously coming from the side of the complex where he had walked from the first time , but I obviously didn't see what apt or anything. I ran & got my stepdad and told him the color of car and he went and looked but nothing. That was the last time I ever saw the guy but that's definitely the creepiest stranger encounter ever & I've had a few creepy encounters. I'm lucky he didn't kidnap me ,esp. considering the time period.

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#39

I was 10 and walking to school when a stranger backed up behind a tree, put a camera around the trunk, and started taking photos of me.

I was 12 and walking my dog when a guy with a big van stopped, got out, popped the trunk and walked over to my (friendly but disinterested) dog and me. He gestured, acting like he didn’t know English, and tried to pat my dog on the head. You know when people clearly don’t know dogs, and their pats are kinda hits? Then he tried to get closer to me. Got tf out of there quickly… my pup was quite athletic lol

I was 13-14 when I had 2 instances of the same men in work trucks follow me slowly as I walked my dog throughout the neighborhood.

But the only time I had that feeling as an adult was when I was serving a man as a worker at a drop-in shelter for homeless during winter. We locked eyes, and then another regular (a bit weird himself, but very protective of women in general) hung out at the serving area for the rest of my shift. The regular (and others) later told me that guy was a recently released serial rapist 🙃

Always listen to your gut, and carry ✨dog mace✨.

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Aileen Grist
Aileen Grist
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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In the UK it's illegal to carry pepper spray, mace or anything like that. A group of us were told, by a policewoman to make sure we always car a (spray) can of hairspray, deodorant or even a spray household cleaner. Now that travel sizes are available it's even better. Spraying anything at/in someone's eyes always makes them think twice.

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#40

In July of 2006, I (now 44F) was attacked while jogging on a bike path that butted up against a large university campus in the Midwest. I was just nearing the end of a 5-mile run when it happened. The path had looped around a wooded area and lake in an oval shape. I had seen the guy at the beginning of my jog, but thought nothing of it. So I can only conclude that he had waited in the adjacent woods for me to loop back around.

After he attacked me and threw me to the ground, he had attempted to suffocate me and move me up into the wooded area. After a very short period of time, by sheer good fortune another man came along the path and pulled the guy off me and my attacker fled. The cops were immediately called and my attacker was later apprehended. The guy ended up being convicted of kidnapping (for forcibly moving my body against my will) and attempted r**e and served 3.5 years in prison out of an 8-year sentence. He had had previous convictions for armed robbery and attack.

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#41

30 Internet Users Reveal The Oddest Things That Strangers Have Done Or Said To Them I was like 15 with 2 of my friends and we snuck out in the middle of the night to meet a boy in a neighboring, neighborhood. We lived in suburbs so you could very easily just wander down back roads lined with houses, or go into developments. We were walking on the side of the road and there were no cars as it was so late. This old car came speeding down, and started to slow down, then swerved into the front yard/off driveway of the house that we were standing next to. He got out of the car, clearly f****d up, and started charging at us. My 2 friends ran, and I was frozen, my other friend came back and grabbed me and literally pulled me away and we sprinted to a diff neighborhood. Then we hid in the bushes next to the front door of a diff house and I kept begging my friends to let me ring their door bell for help, then that car kept slowly creeping back and forth down the road in front of the house we were at, clearly trying to look for us.

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#42

Once, a bunch of us were out playing football in my neighborhood, and a dirty-looking man got out of an unmarked van. He claimed he was a chimney sweep and was looking for directions. The oldest of us immediately refused to talk to him, but one of the younger kids tried to tell him where the street was. It wasn't far, and the guy then tried to get the kid to come with him to ostensibly show him where it was. He was going to get into the car, but his older brother and I immediately pulled him away and threatened to call the police. We were probably 12 at the time, while the youngest kids were five to seven. It did get him to drive off, but in retrospect, I wish I had called the police.

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#43

I was waiting in line to get into a bar with some friends and a scrubby looking guy got in line behind us and started talking to us. After a couple minutes of awkward conversation, out of nowhere he said “I have a girl locked up in my basement…”. Then he walked off.

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#44

Cycling from work. I'm in healtcare, just had a late shift. So pretty late and dark out.

I'm going over a railway bridge. I suddenly see a line of glass across the surface. Now, I'm pretty dumb so I just cycle over it. The moment I go over it I see a guy come out of the stairwell on the side, that pedestrians use to enter the bridge. This guy just gave me the creeps, so went to other side of bride but it was only a few meters wide. I kept eyecontact. Pretty much expected to get jumped, as that was obviously the point of the glass on the road. Hoping I'd have a flat and stop.

I called the cops when I crossed the bridge, hope they caught that guy.

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#45

In the early 90’s, I was in a grocery store with my infant daughter. I was looking at magazines when I was approached by a man that looked to be in his 50’s. He was dressed stylishly, a bit on the heavy side, bald head.

At first he was looking at magazines, then he started some light conversation. When he talked, his voice was very low and smooth. It wasn’t the words, it was the tone. I felt instantly relaxed with him.

I’m an introvert. I don’t feel relaxed with strangers. I don’t know why, but it popped into my mind that he was hypnotizing me. Right about that time, he told me he had a camper in the parking lot and that I should go with him. Part of me felt like this was a reasonable thing to do. Thankfully, the other (internal) part of me freaked the hell out.

I told him no and he walked away. I should have been scared, but I wasn’t. It all *seemed* so reasonable. It wasn’t until I got home with my daughter that I started freaking out.

I still don’t understand it.

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I AM A LOLLY SNEK (she/her)
I AM A LOLLY SNEK (she/her)
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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Just the fact that it sounded reasonable to you scares the s**t out of me. How tf did he do that?

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#46

Me and two buddies were leaving a university-area bar, around 2:15 AM. We get to the car and there’s a guy sleeping in it. One of my buddies knocks on the driver’s door and opens it. The guy is all disoriented. We tell him to get out and he claims it’s his car. He’s clearly still disoriented from sleeping and, potentially, something else. Eventually, he gets out and we get in, and the driver immediately feels something on his seat, that he’s sitting on.

He had sat on the guy’s gun. We dodged a bullet that night.

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Regina Holt
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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Oh, $hit! I would immediately call the police and tell them how it came to be in your possession. If you were caught with it, you would be in big trouble. But luckily the guy was too disoriented to take the gun with him.

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#47

I was at a work event at a bar near the office with some colleagues.  A new guy who had recently joined the company came over to stand next to me and some other people.  He was with a couple of other guys from the dev team.  I don’t know what they had been talking about before, but he made direct eye contact with me (but speaking to another person) and said “See man, I told you.  Her eyes, it’s like she’s just asking for it.”  

He made me feel sick to my stomach.  I was already hating this company for a number of other reasons, and that was kind of the last straw.  I got another job not long after that.

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Katiekat
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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And you reported him to HR for sexual harassment, right? Right??

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#48

Working at a hotel, a couple came to check-in one evening. They were clearly *suuuuper* high on something. I got a lot of blank stares and incoherent statements while trying to check them in. It was a little strange for the area, but they had reservations and seem pretty sedated so I figured if they cause no trouble, I won't give them any, and I powered through and got them to their room.


Cut to a couple nights later. As I'm driving home from work I see a jogger running towards me along the sidewalk. He bolts into the road frantically waving his arms so I stop and roll down my window to see what's up. He walks over, stares at me for a few seconds and says, "Don't I know you?" Yep... it was the guy from the hotel. I immediately knew this encounter was going to be more d**g-fueled than I anticipated. His clothes were ripped and he was bloodied up a bit. Looked like road rash.


He proceeds to tell me a gang was chasing him and he was trying to get away. We were in a quiet college neighborhood. He asked me to pop my trunk open so that he could get in and we could escape. I wasn't super up for that so I told him I'd call the cops for him and get some help to him. He responded by reaching into my car and grabbing at stuff/me, so I freaked out and floored it. He latched on to anything he could hold as I sped up, so I started doing some swerve maneuvers and eventually he fell off. I saw him in my rear view roll along the asphalt a few times then spring to his feet and disappear back into the night.


Got home and called the cops, who had already received a few calls about the guy. I spent the rest of the night disinfecting my car and taking a million showers to clean all the tweaker blood he smeared on me and my interior.

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#49

I was also 12ish, walking through the crowded city center by myself, and a man came up to me and invited me to his 50th birthday party in a bar nearby where his friends were waiting. ... I remember looking at the bar entrance, and it was smoky and dark, and I couldn't see anything inside despite the door being open. Meanwhile, he had taken my hand and was stroking it leisurely and trying to sweet talk me. Core memory, but I can't remember at all how I managed to say no and gtfo. I just remember the panic and trying to pull my hand away.

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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I would have kicked him where it would hurt the most and yelled for help.

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#50

When I was about 10, I was playing on the playground alone at my school after school hours with nobody else there on a summer day. The playground was at the left side of the school, and there was a paved road all along from the front of the school to the back of the school on the right side. The back of the school is the way I would go home, through a dirt road surrounded by swamp. It was semi secluded, but a short walk from home.
I was on the playground and went around to the back right side to go my usual way home, and there was a big truck with tinted windows parked there. I tried to move around it and it moved forward to block me, so I ran to Arlin the left side of the school out of the trucks view to go the longer way home through the front. The truck had followed me to the front of the school. I went back around AGAIN, to leave my usual way, and the truck was once again moving around to the back.
I knew something was terribly off, so I went around near the front again but when I was behind the building where the truck couldn't see me, I went through a hole in the fence and waded through fields for about an hour before I finally got him without being kidnapped.

I told my mom about this happening and she said the person In the truck probably didn't have any nefarious intentions but I just don't believe that for a second.

The very long walk home was terrifying. I kept expecting to turn back and see someone following me.

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I AM A LOLLY SNEK (she/her)
I AM A LOLLY SNEK (she/her)
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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Your mum said WHAT?! Parents, always, ALWAYS, assume if something like that happens something is wrong. And always believe your children in those circumstances.

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#51

I was running at 5am one morning. I sometimes see others out at that hour, usually other runners, or people walking their dogs. But mostly I’m just alone, lost in my own thoughts trudging through the darkness.

One of my usual routes takes me past a cemetery. One morning, just as I was running in front of the cemetery, I saw a man on the sidewalk ahead of me. Seeing him in the first place startled me given the time of day, but I also noticed he wasn’t walking a dog and wasn’t wearing workout clothing. Just some dude shambling about at 5am. I moved to the side out of his way, and he moved back into my path. I veered to the other side, and he again moved into my path. My fight or flight kicked in and I bolted for the street and sprinted a good 10 seconds until I turned around and couldn’t see him on the sidewalk anymore. No idea where he went.

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#52

Not sure if this counts as an encounter, but:

Double date at the bowling alley, roughly 2018? Myself and my then-fiancee and two of his coworkers who were dating. Sitting at a table chilling out and talking after having bowled. Looked up and saw my grandma. I froze, my whole body got hot, and I just stared while my heart tried to pound out of my chest…because my grandma died in 2001 when I was 6. But my grandma was a bowler - she bowled in a league every single Thursday night for decades. Had to talk myself off the ledge that it was just someone who looked a lot like her - down to the way she was dressed and everything. It was very odd.

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DogMomma
DogMomma
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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Sweet if her to visit you. A little creepy, and also sweet.

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#53

It’s 2007, I was 26 at the time and my friend Josh (former marine) was a couple years younger than me. We went to St. Louis to catch a Rams game for his birthday then wander down to the Laclede’s landing to bar hop. In the early morning hours, we end up at this weird underground bar with fake torches for lights on the wall almost has a dungeon feel. There is a guy there that attempts to befriend us, he’s overly friendly. We’re pretty drunk and he keeps trying to get us to leave the bar and come hang out with him. He was very insistent and became upset when we initially wouldn’t go. I just remember having an unnerving feeling the whole time. He had dark eyes and dark hair and he just creeped me out which was weird because I was a firefighter at the time and in shape. We act like we’re going to go with him much to his pleasure and then disappear into the crowd quickly leaving and walking back to our hotel. The entire interaction just felt off, I joked with Josh that one our friends would have gotten a photo of our head on a pike that says “I go home” like in Hostel, because it really felt like he had nefarious plans for us.

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#54

As a female college freshman in the 90s I went rollerblading alone during the day around campus/in the city. I went down a short dirt path and little wooden bridge to sit on a park bench overlooking the river. As I went to head back, there was an older homeless man blocking the other end of the bridge with his d**k out and at half mast. I walked slowly (with my rollerblades still on) across the bridge prepared to kick with them if needed, then said excuse me and thankfully he let me pass without incident.

Terrifying at the time not knowing how it was going to turn out.

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#55

Was at work. Just squatted down and stockin cigarettes behind the counter and I hear a chuckle from behind me. "I like how your sittin~❤" I IMMEDIATELY stand back up and give him a nasty look. Refused to check him out and had my boss do it.

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#56

Preface this with I lived in a small community in Canada in the ‘90s before cell phones.

I went on a second date with a man. Took me to dinner. All was ok. He was lovely. Funny and charming. He asked me if I would mind if he checked in on his elderly mom who lived alone. No red flags as he spoke about her before and the fact that she lived with him because she was getting older.

We went into the apartment and there she was in the kitchen. No issues. He invited me into the living room where he pulled out a huge suitcase from under his couch. I watch him open it and it’s full of handguns! I had never seen one let alone a suitcase full of them.

He then started taking them out, one by one and asking me to hold them. I’m literally so freaked out at this point because I didn’t know anyone who owned a handgun, let alone a suitcase full of them. And the way he was insisting I hold them was frankly creepy. And we had never spoken about a shared interest in guns so it was totally out of the blue!

I refused and got up and walked into the kitchen. The woman was _gone_! I didn’t hear her leaving. There was nowhere she could hide.

I had to ask him to drive me home because it was over 10k. He called me for weeks trying to get a third date. I think not!

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#57

I (f)went to a concert last year alone, no biggie I’ve done this before. A guy approaches me, begins to create small chat, no big deal, he slowly begins to get more and more comfortable and sits next to me, then after a while wants a hug(I stupidly agree), I get up to get in line to get inside, follows me, I tried to chat with other people and ignore him, then I said I need the restroom and he begins to accompany me, luckily lots of people around, after I’m done I hurry back to get in line, he gets annoyed I didn’t wait for him outside the bathroom, he then says he goes to get something to eat, I’m so relieved since he’s giving me the creeps and alarm bells are ringing, I moved to another line and don’t see him, very relieved. Then once inside the venue he approaches me again and I’m at the point where I’m absolutely terrified. The concert ends and wants to say bye and I just hurriedly leave the venue bolt for my car. I have never ever met someone that made me feel so terrified and scared. It’s like when they tell you you’ve met a psychopath, yep this still creeps me the fck out to this day. I was so thankful I was around thousands of people and was never alone with him.

Edit: and just to clarify it wasn’t that he was socially inept, it was the opposite, he had this very very superficial charm and I picked up on it not being genuine, it felt that he was masking something under the surface with the charm.

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Regina Holt
Regina Holt
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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I would have gone to security after the concert. I would not want the creep to see what car I got into.

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#58

I was walking to the liquor store two blocks from my house at around 8pm. On the way, I have to pass by an old, dilapidated funeral home. As I’m walking past it, a disheveled, creepy-looking man, possibly homeless, walks by me in the other direction. As we pass each other, he gets this strange grin on his face and kind of leans into my personal space, and simply says “This is where the quiet people sleep.” Almost with a laugh. And then keeps walking. I didn’t feel afraid, but I was just like wtf?

This was in Ann Arbor. .

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#59

I remember going to a poke-stop near my house so that I could complete a streak of spinning it and as I was getting there a man walked past me but as he was doing so he did like a fake-out lunge at me and grunted, what's scary is I was on the part of the side walk close to fast moving cars, he could've easily pushed me into traffic or had me tumble into it. I don't know why he did it but I never went back to that poke-stop.

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Nikki Private Citizen
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4 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I was about 25 and walking to the bus stop. A man walked up with his hand held out. I thought he was trying to introduce himself so I stuck out my hand to shake. As I am used to looking someone in the face when conversing, I didn't notice instead of his hand, he put his member into my hand. I snatched my hand back yelling WTF and he scurried off mumbling I'm sorry. It was so weird and random. Started going to another bus stop after that.

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#60

I was waiting in line to get into a bar with some friends, and a scrubby-looking guy got in line behind us and started talking to us. After a couple minutes of awkward conversation, out of nowhere, he said, 'I have a girl locked up in my basement.' Then he walked off. This was in the early 2000s, so we didn’t have cell phones. We told the security guard at the bar and gave him a description of the guy. I don’t know what happened after that.

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