Stranger Danger! These people had run-ins with strangers and they were lucky enough to escape. From horrifying hitchhikers to stealthy stalkers, these creepy encounters could make anyone beg for a friendly—and familiar—face.
1. The Horrifying House Call
A few years ago, I was in desperate need of a job and a friend helped me get on with his company doing home health. I became a home health aide where I’d just go house to house, doing light housework and helping the client wash up. Most of these people were out in the boonies where I couldn’t get cell service and there wasn’t another home for miles.
This one client lived in such a place. He gave me weird vibes from the get-go. I showed up at his requested time, cleaned up his house, and helped him wash up. I asked if he needed anything else before I left—that’s when he turned on me. He grabbed me quickly, pulled me to him, and said, “Yeah, you can make love to me before you go.”
This man, who supposedly was too weak to even shower himself, had a very tight grip on me and I couldn’t get away. It probably only lasted between five and ten seconds but it was terrifying. I was alone with this man in his home, with no cell service o landline. I was thinking that he could have done whatever he wanted to me.
I walk with pepper spray now.
2. The Laughing Bush
Years ago, I used to work as an ecological surveyor. Basically, the government paid me to take long walks in Peak District National Park here in the UK and note down all the plant species I saw. Tough gig, I know. But actually, there were times when it was a pretty lonely and scary job. Being out there by myself, things got dicey at times.
I was walking down a trail one morning along the edge of the woodland. Suddenly, the most unexpected thing happened—eight of the bushes stood up—I kid you not. I nearly fouled myself right then and there. The next thing I knew, the bushes started laughing hysterically at me. Turns out, it was a bunch of British Army guys on a camouflage and concealment exercise.
They had been following me the whole time to practice their skills. Apparently, I had nearly trodden on one of them as he was hiding right by the trail. I had no idea. We all ended up sitting around talking about football for a bit. They were a nice bunch of guys but it was a very scary moment indeed.
3. Take Me By The Hand
When I was about six, I was with my family at an incredibly crowded street festival we used to go to every year. I remember we had stopped to watch a band play. It was just for a minute or two; not more, I’m sure of it. Then, my mom took my hand and we continued walking through the festival.
After a few seconds, I realized the hand I was holding was puffy and hot. My mom’s hands were always cool and slenderer, so I knew it wasn’t her hand I was holding. When I looked up, my face went white. It was a woman with long blond hair and sunglasses grinning down at me. I said, “You’re not my mom,” and she just laughed and said, “That’s okay, you can come with me anyway!”
Obviously, my mom and dad had realized I was not with them and they were freaking out. My dad just happened to look exactly in the right direction at right time and he saw the lady leading me away through a break in the crowd. He ran over to us, grabbed her shoulder, and she dropped my hand. Like a ghost, she disappeared into the crowd.
I still can’t believe he spotted us. It was packed shoulder-to-shoulder at that festival and that lady was just walking away with me.
4. Teen Titans To The Rescue
I was traveling home to California from Nevada. It was for an emergency, so I packed and left at around midnight. At about five-thirty in the morning or so in rural Nevada, I was at a stop on my usual route. I was very familiar with the area, so I knew I was just an hour or so before the California border.
As an extra precaution, I carry a concealed weapon—I have my extended permit which allowed me to carry it concealed through several states, except California. I was my truck disassembling and putting it away to be in compliance. If I had only known that I was going to need it, I would have been loading it, not taking it apart.
Anyway, I stepped out to go to the restroom and someone had managed to get close to my truck. They were hiding along the passenger side and I hadn’t noticed them until it was too late. When I walked past this person, my worst fears came true—whoever it was, they grabbed me from behind. I let out the loudest, most blood-curdling scream. An Oscar-winning scream.
It didn’t matter how loud I screamed though because there were no other people at the stop. I fought and tried to buck the guy off of me, but I wasn’t doing very well. When I tried to kick him, he just lifted me off the ground where I couldn’t get him. I’m not sure how long I was screaming and fighting, but at some point, I heard tires screech.
I figured it was the creepy van my parents told me to avoid as a kid coming to take me away. Nope. It was a Toyota Corolla full of local teenagers headed to the gas station before school. The teens jumped out and ran towards us while the driver stayed in the vehicle. The guy who grabbed me ended up taking off.
Two of the kids chased him through the desert beyond the gas station on foot while the driver and the other kid made sure I was alright. Those teens saved me. I send those four boys Christmas and birthday cards every year. I just shudder to think what would have happened if they hadn’t come along.
5. The Homeless Hero
I was eleven when this happened. I was at the park with my cousin who was three, and being a stubborn three-year-old, he told me to just leave him be so he could play with the other kids. So, I sat out on the bench and kept a watchful eye on him. I should have been paying more attention to who was watching me.
I was reading my book and occasionally looking up to check on my cousin. Out of nowhere, some fifty-year-old man sat down next to me and started talking. I didn’t make much of it at first because he seemed harmless. He kept asking me which kid was mine and that started to creep me out because I was obviously too young to have kids.
I made it quite clear to this guy that I was uncomfortable, but he just kept talking to me. And then he tried it—he got really close to me and was like, "Do you want another one?" That’s when I really started to freak out. Just then, this homeless guy—who would later become a pretty good friend of mine named Marty—pulled me off the bench.
He must have seen that something wasn’t right. He said the creep was lucky that he didn't “pop his jaw.” I’m still friends with Marty today and I'm grateful that he showed up when he did. One stranger saved me from another.
6. Cash Me Outside
I used to work at a restaurant when I was 16. I was working a super late shift when we had this weird customer come in. The guy just wouldn't leave. He was like 30 and just stared at me the entire time as he ate his food. It went on for two whole hours. When he finally came up to the cash to pay, he was super weird about it.
I said, "Okay here's your price," and he paused and said, "Do I get a discount?" I was like, “No. Will you be paying cash or card?" He replied, "Cash." Then he just stared at me while I waited for him to hand me his cash. After like two minutes of this weird interaction, I gave him his money and the receipt, but he didn’t leave.
So, I said, "Have a good night," to make him go away. Super awkwardly, he blurted out, "Can I go now?” and I was like, "Yup!" That's when he uttered the words that finally made me lose it. "Am I pestering you? Why don't I take you home and pester you there?" I knew I had to get out of that situation, so I walked to the back room where I got my co-worker to deal with him.
Apparently, my co-worker scolded that guy and said it was shameful he would say that to a minor. The guy managed to creep out my co-worker when he said, "Well then, can I take you home?" What a creep.
7. Walker Creepy Ranger
I dropped my son off at school one morning and then went to the grocery store with my infant daughter. It was so early that there were only a few other customers in the store. There was an older man with a walker that I didn’t really pay too much attention to, except that he kept popping up in the same aisle as us.
I got out to my car and put my groceries in. Then, when I was putting my daughter in her car seat, the man came up behind me. He asked me a question and when I turned to answer him, he did the most unimaginable thing—he shoved his walker into the back of my legs pinning me against my car inside the open door. I tried moving around but couldn’t go anywhere except forward. He then started pushing me down to the floor of my car.
I was so scared that he was going to go for my daughter, so I threw myself over her so my whole upper body was in her car seat and wedged myself in tight trying to cover as much of her as possible. He grabbed me by the hair and was trying to pull me up when someone started honking their car horn.
Another mom had been sitting in her car with her own baby asleep and had seen what was happening. Another car pulled up behind mine and the man ran over getting in quickly, obviously never needing the walker. We called the authorities but when the officers ran the plates on the car that he left in, they found out that the car’s owner had reported it missing.
I never found out who that guy was. I’m not even sure if he was actually an old guy.
8. Parking Lots At Night
I was in a store picking up some items for my house when I noticed a man was literally peeking at me from around a corner. I brushed it off at first and continued my shopping, but I was aware that this man was following me around the store. He then came up to me and said I looked familiar. He asked if I went to the local university.
I told him that I didn’t and at that point, I got creeped out, so I checked out and went to my car. I heard footsteps behind me and knew he had followed me, so I just jumped in my car and locked the doors. But my nightmare was far from over—it was dark, so I hadn’t noticed when he went around the back of my car until he banged on my passenger’s side window.
I ignored him as he banged on the window and just started the car. That prompted him to run around the front and start banging on my driver’s side door. I was terrified and just pulled out of the parking space as fast as I could. The guy literally chased my car until I rounded a corner.
I have no idea what his plan was, but to this day, I am nervous being in dark parking lots at night.
9. A Pool Of Strangers
I had a really weird day because of two different strangers. When I was around ten or eleven, a friend of mine invited me to a water park. We were swimming in a wave pool when he found some random kid around our age. He decided to tell this kid that the game we were going to play involved holding me down in the water. I didn’t get the memo that it was a game.
I thought they were just trying to drown me. This went on for what felt like an hour of me swimming away and hiding. I didn’t hang out with him afterward. Terrifying as that experience was, it was nothing compared to what happened next. That water park was overflowing with stranger danger.
After we left the pool, I went to the changing rooms. There were a couple of other people in there. Some old man on the bench asked me if I wanted him to help me change. I just said, “No thanks,” quickly changed (without any help), and ran out.
10. Stranger Station
I was in Paris, at the train station that takes you to the airport. My flight was very early in the morning, so I planned to stay at the station until five in the morning and then go to the airport. This dude that I didn’t know started talking to me. He was very friendly at first. He even praised my French and made small talk.
Then he asked me where I was from and I totally lied because I wasn’t about to give a total stranger all of my information. He asked me if I was going to the airport and I said that I was, early in the morning. At some point, I realized another guy was kind of circling us, keeping an eye on our conversation. For some reason, this gave me a bad vibe.
I was kind of far away from the other people because I was using a machine to buy tickets and several of them were not working. I started walking towards the entry where there were more people, but this guy followed me and was still trying to talk with me. The other guy continued to follow us and that’s when I knew that something was wrong.
The guy talking to me said, “Do you know that the station closes in like 15 minutes?” I wasn't able to hide my surprise. He told me they didn't close before, but due to the number of vagrants, they started locking up at night. He tried to touch my arm but I pulled away. My situation was getting really dangerous really fast.
He said, “You don't want to spend the night here. It’s a dangerous neighborhood and a pretty lady like you...one can only imagine what is going to happen to you.” He offered to go to a hotel with me. I was looking at the reflection of the glass wall and realized that the other dude was getting closer to us. At that moment, I was certain that they were going to abduct me.
Then, my guardian angels intervened. I heard this Spanish-speaking lady somewhere nearby (I’m Spanish-speaking). I looked at her and she was with her two adult children. I almost cried. She was Mexican and for some reason, I was convinced she was going to help me. I walked towards her and said very fast a low in Spanish that those guys were harassing me.
She seemed to understand exactly what my situation was and said that we should stay together. I spent the rest of the night with her and her adult children until the train station opened again the next morning. I'm forever grateful to her and her family. They saved me.
11. My Cousin In A Camper
One time, my sister and her friends were walking on the sidewalk when they had a potentially dangerous situation. This creepy-looking panel van came down the street. It slowed down and the driver began yelling something at them that they couldn’t make out. Instead of waiting to get abducted—or worse—they ran home and told my mom.
But the worst was yet to come—about 30 minutes later, the van pulled into our driveway and my sister started to freak out. She was convinced that this creepy panel van had somehow found out where we lived and that they were coming for her. And then my cousin got out. Turns out, he had just bought a used camper van and just wanted to offer them a ride home.
My mom was proud that my sister and her friends did the right thing though. She obviously didn't even look at the driver or she would have recognized him. She did the right thing and just got out of what could have been a bad situation.
12. Quiet Reading Interruption
I had a deeply disturbing encounter with a stranger once. This random dude at my local library accosted me while I was enjoying a new sci-fi novel, but the reason was more disturbing than the action. This guy was absolutely convinced that I was his son. He kept telling me he was sorry and that he never meant to “off” my mother who he kept calling “Pink.” He said a bunch of other heinous stuff that I won’t describe.
He was obviously off his rocker, but the scariest part of it all was that while he was saying all of this creepy stuff, he actually sounded so rational and calm. That experience gave me the creeps for a long time after that. I’ll never look at the library the same way.
13. The Shower Intrusion
I was taking a shower in the bathroom of my walkout basement. My three-year-old son was upstairs with my mother eating breakfast. I heard him open the door and told him, "Mommy is in the shower, you have to wait." The door didn't close but he didn't respond either, so I asked him to go back upstairs and ask grandma for whatever he needed.
Instead, I saw a shadow and the outline of a hand touching the shower curtain. I got chills up my spine—I suddenly realized that there was an adult in the bathroom, not my son. I screamed and punched through the shower curtain. I don't think I connected, but I heard the man run out anyway. As fast as I could, I jumped out and grabbed a towel to check on my son and mom.
At the same time, my mom was coming downstairs to see if I was OK—she had heard me scream. The man never went upstairs and they didn't even know what had happened. The walkout basement door and window were wide open. I called 9-1-1 but they couldn’t find whoever it was who had come into my home. They did, however, find my empty wallet about a block away.
They came back to me a few weeks later to let me know that they caught a guy in the area accosting women and they think it was the same guy. I’d never been so scared in my life. The most visceral part for me was knowing he was just standing quietly in the bathroom while I talked to him like he was my son. Honestly, I don't know why but that creeps me out the most.
14. Flash And Run
I was walking home once when I was 18. It was late at night, so it was really dark outside. I was walking past a bus stop when the bus pulled up. A man—he appeared to be in his 40s—got off the bus. When he saw me, he opened up his coat and said, "Like what you see?" He wasn’t asking me whether or not I liked his outfit—beneath his coat, he was in nothing but his birthday suit.
I ran home so fast.
15. Big, Scary Teddy Bear
I was about 19 and driving home from dinner one night—I probably had a ribeye sandwich from the local truck stop because those things were cheap and excellent. A woman standing next to a motorcycle at the side of the road waved me down, so I stopped. She said that she’d run out of gas and needed some help. Oh, and there was one more thing.
She added that she didn’t want to scare me but her boyfriend was hiding down over the bank. I was like, uh-oh, this is going to get worse. Out of nowhere, this giant came up over the bank in dusty road leathers. He was a mountain of a man in denim, leather, and hair. I was certain that I had fallen for a fake damsel-in-distress ploy.
My mind started racing. I was like, I’m so close to home, maybe I can leg it home. Surely, he’s too big to be fast, right? My fears were totally misplaced though. The giant apologized for hiding and said, “We ran out of gas and there was no way anyone was going to stop on an empty road to help with me standing here.” He was actually embarrassed.
I felt a little guilty for judging the guy so quickly. He was right, though, there was no way that I would have stopped if he had been standing there. He was intimidating without putting any effort into it. Anyway, I helped them get some gas and the whole thing was a lesson not to judge a book by its cover.
16. Just Like In The Movies
I was at this run-down movie theatre we had in town. It was the only one we had at the time and it was pretty bad. It had turned into a place where the bad crowd went to hang out. Who knew that gangsters were such cinephiles? Anyway, I walked up to the booth to pay for my ticket. I was trying to mind my business and ignore the seedy characters.
One random guy approached me, however, and asked, “Want to buy some stuff?” By the look of him, I knew the guy wasn’t selling your average theater concessions. I tried to be polite and said, “No, thanks.” The dude got in close to me and pulled out a knife. “Don’t tell anyone,” he said and then he walked away.
17. Not A Word
I worked at a truck stop when I was in high school. One night, a trucker came in and stared at me for a long time. Wherever I moved to, his eyes tracked me down. I told him that if he needed anything that he would need to come to the counter and order it. He just grunted and kept staring. I'm not a small person and at that time I was in football, wrestling, and track.
I was also at the gym six days a week. I was 190 pounds of muscle and teenage hormones. But the vibes I was getting from this guy were making me nervous. I called up my other co-worker and told them I was going to be in the freezer for a while. I started stocking the freezers for a while and then went to the bathroom. That's where things got really creepy.
As I entered the bathroom the trucker jumped up and walked in behind me and just stood in there while I did my business and washed my hands. As soon as I got out, I grabbed the trash bags and made a bee-line outside to take care of the trash at the pumps until he left. My co-worker asked me why the trucker kept following me after I finally came in.
I had no idea why. He never said anything. Didn't order anything. Just filled up his semi and crept on me. I've never been as creeped out by a person as I was with that guy.
18. A Friendly Game
A very cheerful guy approached me and my friend in a park one day. He was very non-threatening at first—even friendly, I’d say. He was holding a frisbee and explained he was putting together an impromptu game of Ultimate Frisbee. It actually sounded like it would be quite a bit of fun...but his demeanor changed as we mulled over his offer.
Out of nowhere, he did something I could have never prepared for—he tried to grab me by the throat. It was such a sudden change of mood that it took me completely off-guard. My friend (an athletic dude, fortunately) got between us and just stared him down as he ran away. The whole thing was just bizarre.
19. Meet The Parents
I went to a yard sale with my aunt when I was like five or so. A little boy, about the same age as me, approached me and told me to come inside to meet his dad. I wandered off with him without my aunt noticing and he brought me into the house where the yard sale was taking place. I was young and naïve so it didn’t seem that odd to me. I thought the kid wanted to play, but I was so, so wrong.
Anyway, we went down to the basement and I got the shock of a lifetime. The kid’s dad was lying on a couch in the basement…completely unclothed. Not only that, but he looked “excited” to see me. He greeted me as if he'd been waiting. I actually don't remember much after that. I just got out of there as fast as possible.
It's been a strange memory of mine ever since.
20. A Little Car Trouble
I was walking home after a late shift. It was around three or four in the morning. The streets of Seattle were mostly empty except for a few homeless people milling around. All of a sudden, a guy came out of an alleyway and asked me to help him out with his car. I told him, “Nope,” explaining that I wasn’t mechanically inclined anyway.
He persisted, but I just kept reiterating that I couldn’t help him. It was starting to get pretty uncomfortable...until the best thing happened. A huge homeless dude came around and got in his face, telling him that I had already said, “No,” and to leave me alone. I recognized the homeless dude as a “local” whom I’d seen around the neighborhood a bunch of times.
I gave the homeless guy a nod and continued on my way whilst he still berated the other guy. I’m not sure what his intent was, but it wouldn’t have ended well for either of us.
21. Home Improvement
Back when I was 16, I used to work at a hardware store. Some customer who was an old man walked up behind me and whispered in my ear, “Do you know where I can find the hoses at?” He said that so close to my ear that I could feel his warm breath while he was caressing my shoulder. My whole body froze.
All I could say was, “I think they’re in aisle five.” Shortly after that, I found out that he never even went to that end of the store where they were.
22. A Walk Interrupted
I left my apartment to go for a walk down towards the beach. It was pitch black outside, in the deep of the night. There was a park along the way and as we were passing it, some guy came up to me and asked if he could use my phone. I apologized and said I didn't have one. He didn't believe me and started to get aggressive. He asked me where I lived and if I had a boyfriend.
He started following me and that's when I started to run and went back to my place. I didn't feel comfortable going where I wanted to.
23. Is That Your Natural Color?
I was walking over to my friend's house on the last day of eighth grade. All of a sudden, this old lady pulled her car next to me, almost cutting me off my path. I backed away because it immediately seemed like a bad situation. She called out to me saying that she liked my hair.
She said that she missed her old hair color and that she changed it after she had been attacked one day. You'd better believe my little chunky self ran to my friend's house and told her parents.
24. The Train Has Left The Station
I was 16 and sitting in a train station with my mother. Some man came over and started talking to her. He seemed pretty nice. After a while, I looked at the clock and informed my mother that we needed to go because our train was about to arrive. That's when the guy she was talking to took me by total surprise—he flew up from his seat and started screaming at me, saying he wanted to fight.
My mother was confused and tried to explain to him that I was her daughter and that we really needed to leave. He just continued screaming which, of course, made me scream back at him. She had to pull me away from there. I never understood what made him see red like that. All I did was inform my mother our train was coming and we needed to leave.
25. I Wasn’t Talking To You
I was the only passenger in a train car in Europe one night. A disheveled man with wild hair and a beard wearing a tagged sweater entered the car. He started pacing up and down the aisle, talking to himself in a language I couldn’t understand. Every few times he passed me, he would stop and yell at me in whatever language he spoke.
I would try to respond, but he didn’t understand English any more than I understood whatever language he was speaking. He would eventually give up yelling at me and go back to pacing the aisle. This went on for hours. I really wish I could have recorded so that I could find someone to translate what he was saying.
26. Ghost Busted
I will never forget this horrible experience I had with a stranger. When Ghostbusters 2 came out, I really wanted to see it, so my mom took me to the local theater. I think I was around nine. I needed to use the bathroom so I ran down the small hall and turned the corner. I saw a much older man come out of the bathroom just then.
When he saw me, he stopped and went back in. When I didn't move, he opened the door peeking his head and arm out. At one point, he motioned for me to come towards him. I probably looked like a deer in headlights. I didn't move. I was frozen until he said something that shook me to my core: “Come on, come on in.” I was really young but I knew that it was a bad situation.
Panic rushed over me and I ran back towards my mom who said I was pale white. She quickly left the theater with me and went home. I can still picture that creepy old man.
27. How’s Your English?
One time, I was in a public library and it was packed with most of the seats taken. There were a bunch of couches near where I was browsing and I had a gut feeling that this guy sitting there was staring at me. I continued minding my own business when suddenly, that guy stood up and walked directly towards me.
I pretended not to notice him until he said, "Hey, little girl" in the creepiest way. I was probably 14 at the time. I thought that I could just ignore him and he would go away, but then he asked me, "Do you want to be my friend?" I was so creeped out at that point. That dude had to be at least in his 60s.
I pretended that I didn’t understand English and that I didn't get what he was trying to say and he walked away. Thank goodness that library was full of people.
28. Seek Cover
My siblings and I were walking across the road to a gas station. We frequently went there to grab snacks and such before going on a walk down the road behind the gas station. Well, one day, a car started following us with its headlights switched off. Things were about to get really creepy.
I quickly dipped and told my siblings to follow suit. We started running through a field and laid on the ground, waiting for them to leave. The then car drove up and down the road, circling back maybe four or five times before they gave up and we went home—or back to their secret creepy lair.
29. Confidence Man
I was walking home from the bus stop after school one day. I was about 15 years old at the time. It really wasn’t a far walk, but there were construction workers drinking on the side of the road. Things immediately took a turn for the worst when one of them got up and started following me home. The worst part of it was that he was yelling out suggestive things the whole time.
His intentions were pretty clear. I got to about 200 meters or so from my house and just started sprinting. We had an automatic gate and I realized that he would catch me if I waited for it to open...or, worse, he would follow me in. So I climbed over that gate like an Olympic athlete and left him in the dust.
30. Where Are You From?
I was 21 when this happened and I'm not exactly a small dude by any standards. I was at the old bus depot before they closed it down when this scrawny guy covered in prison tattoos approached me. Me, being a friendly guy, didn't think much of it until he started trying to get me to tell him where I lived. He was practically pestering me.
He gave me bad vibes from the beginning and the way that he was rambling made me think then that he was on something. I tried to dodge the question but he kept rambling and pushing. Fortunately, the bus came around soon after that, and I hurried on. I was honestly surprised that he didn't try to follow me on the bus.
I don’t know what his plans were or what he would have done if he found out where I lived. That’s the thing with strangers. You just never know.
31. Wakey, Wakey
When I was 19, I was sleeping with the window open. It was a hot summer night. My boyfriend and I were both exhausted. Regardless, for some reason, I sprang awake (I just opened my eyes but didn’t get out of bed) because I had a horrible gut feeling. It was like an animal instinct telling me the creepiest thing ever—someone was watching me.
I turned to my side and I saw someone’s head sticking in from the window. Needless to say, I practically had a heart attack. As soon as they heard me get up, they left.
32.Go, Go Great Granny!
When I was five, I was sitting on my great-grandmother’s porch. She was always an amazing and fierce woman, but I had no idea how much until this one day when I saw it first hand. Out of nowhere, some random man walking by tried to kidnap me from the porch. Well, my great-grandmother wasn’t having any of that. She chased the man away with a giant stick.
33. Bonnie & Clyde
I stopped at a gas station on my way home from work one night. There was this couple hanging out there—they were clearly strung out on something. They asked me for a ride to a motel that was ten or so miles down the highway. I turned them down because they looked sketchy. I had no idea how right my suspicions were.
The next thing I knew, I was staring down a barrel. They forced their way into my car and held the muzzle against me. After riding along like that for some time, they started to get hungry—probably the munchies. They spent $60 of my money at a fast-food restaurant. I managed to run out of the car and into the restaurant but they held my phone and wallet so I wouldn’t get away.
Once I got into the restaurant, I asked to use the phone to call 9-1-1 while the employees kept the crazy couple in the drive-thru "waiting on fresh beef." Thankfully the idiots stayed there and officers had every exit blocked within a couple of minutes. I got my car, money, and wallet back the next day. I got really lucky that everything turned out the way it did.
34. Spirit Of Aloha
When my daughter turned one, we went on a trip to Hawaii. We were sitting in the airport waiting to check in with our tickets. A man approached me and started commenting on how beautiful my daughter was. That was fine, but it didn't stop there. He stood over me and continued to ask about her age, birthday, favorite things, where we were going, etc.
I wasn’t born yesterday, so I refused to answer his questions, but he refused to move and kind of had us trapped. My husband came back and the man stepped away pretty quickly. I told airport security but they didn't do anything. We got to our gate and a few minutes later, the same man was there. But the chilling part was yet to come—he positioned himself where he could watch our daughter.
If we moved seats, he kept her in his sight. I mentioned it to the gate agent who brushed it off again. We got on the plane and he managed to also be on the plane in a seat he could keep an eye on her. He kept smiling at her and getting up to walk the aisles and pass her. My husband got up and he came in, saying, "I found out where you’re going, didn't I?”
I reported it to the flight attendant who was not messing around. They forced him to switch seats and barred him from getting up again. Upon landing, there were people waiting for him (security or airport staff, I’m not sure). We didn’t see him again and enjoyed the rest of our vacation.
35. Let’s Play Russian Roulette
I was at a co-worker’s Halloween party once. A young woman, in her 30s and very beautiful, came up to me. The conversation was casual and we started to flirt. Things were going well and I asked if she was seeing anyone (feeling this was my time to ask her out). She replied that she recently got out of a nightmare relationship.
Her husband would regularly threaten to blow his brains out with an empty revolver in front of her and her children. It got to a point where this was happening every weekend. One weekend, she sent her kids to stay with their grandparents because she had big plans. Without her husband knowing, she did something completely unforgivable—she slipped a bullet into his revolver.
The same routine built up again and he started clicking through the chambers…until the last one. She made a sign with her hand and put it to her temple and went, “Pow, the loser’s dead.” I didn’t realize I hadn’t taken a drag the whole time I was listening. I quickly said goodnight and got the heck out of there. Never saw her again. Hope her kids are ok.
36. These Mean Streets
Some random guy came up to me one day. We made eye contact for literally five seconds, then he got right up in my face. He started talking a bunch of smack and he clearly wanted to get into a fight with me. I had never seen this dude before in my life. I don’t know what his deal was. Maybe he had just had a bad day, I have no idea.
37. Happily Never After
I was sitting in the cafeteria at a table by myself once when some random guy approached me. He asked if an empty seat at my table was taken. Out of all the tables he could have gone to, he chose the one I was at...but I let him sit anyway. He then proceeded to make conversation with me. He asked me for my name and major.
I didn’t want to be rude so I responded politely, thinking that would be the end of the conversation. But then the guy asked me if I was married. At first, I thought I just heard wrong, but then he repeated the question. I responded with a firm, "No." The guy then asked me why—that's when things got really weird.
He asked, "Would you like to [be married] with me?" His expression was totally serious, so I doubt the dude was joking. He kept asking why I wouldn't marry him and then just left. Weirdest encounter ever.
38. In & Out Burger
It was late evening and I was heading into the city to visit a friend. On the way, I figured I should stop and eat. I saw a fast-food restaurant as I was heading up the street, which was convenient because I really had to go to the washroom.
I was like five minutes away or less, but I couldn’t hold it and we were going to be drinking. I parked my car and as I was walking away from it, I heard, “ Hey miss! Hey miss!” I walked faster and ignored it. I walked into the restaurant and got in line. As I was walking back, a homeless man stopped in front of me and said, “Mm, you got some really pretty hair.”
His voice was all raspy and it was just creepy. I hadn’t been out on the town in a while and I felt like letting my hair down—big mistake, apparently. I said, “Thanks” really fast and slipped past him. At the other end of the counter was this middle-aged man; the type of guy that makes you uncomfortable almost immediately.
He looked like a creepy dad—balding, no facial hair, would always-be-happy-to-give-you-a-ride-home type of guy. He leaned against the counter and just stared at me. No facial expression at all. Just blank. One worker placed his bag of food on the counter and said, “ Here’s your order, sir.” He didn’t even touch it. He just kept staring at me.
When I got up to the counter, I asked for my burger and then went to find the bathroom that was around the corner. When I got back there, I saw that it required a passcode. The middle-aged man was still at the counter. I walked over and leaned into the cashier to ask for the passcode and she literally screamed it at me.
As soon as he heard that I was going to the washroom, he started making his way toward the bathrooms. He went around a corner and I couldn’t see him, but I rushed into the bathroom, keeping my keys between my fingers. Honestly, I didn’t even wash my hands. I wanted to be in and out of there ASAP. To heck with hygiene—I was scared for my life.
When I came out of the washroom, the creepy man was one foot away from the doors. I walked straight past him and headed to my car as fast as I could. Then that stupid guy started up again: “Hey miss! Hey miss!” I just snapped I yelled, “No! No, thank you!” I don’t know why I’m polite even when I’m terrified. I am never going back to that place again.
39. Pray For Us Sinners Now
When I was either 14 or 15, I was walking my dog in a forest. I ran into a large guy who told me he had failed to report back to his mental hospital but that I should not be afraid. He told me about visiting purgatory and how painful that was. He then went on to explain to me that Hades was specifically one thousand times more painful. Not more, not less.
He gave me colorful details. It sounded like something out of Bosch or the Hindu book of the dead. He begged me to pray for him which, not knowing what else to do, I said that I would. Incidentally, my school’s gym in those days was located on the opposite side of the road from a mental hospital. They'd release them for a walk every now and then.
I was pretty used to running into mental hospital patients on my way to and from the gym. It was a bit eerie, but we were always in a group and it was in a city, so I felt safe. Being outside of civilization and alone with that guy was terrifying. He wasn't harmful and let me go, but it was deeply uncomfortable.
40. Blood And Mud
About ten years ago, I was taking my girlfriend home around midnight. We were driving on a very rural backroad in northern Georgia. I was half asleep at the wheel when this lady ran out from the woods in front of my truck, screaming, “Help me!” I slammed on my breaks and rolled my window halfway down. That’s when I saw the shocking sight—she was covered in blood and mud.
She reached her hands into my cab and grabbed my neck as hard as she could. I took off just a little down the road and found a crowd of distraught people outside their house. I figured it was probably related. They asked if I had seen anyone and I told them that I nearly ran over some crazy lady just a few moments ago.
Well, turns out she had been released from an asylum that day and had attacked her mother (she showed me the knife wound on her shoulder). Later, I drove back and there were a dozen squad cars lit up at the house. Creepy.
41. Are You Just Excited To See Me?
I was 15 years old when I went on a school trip to London. Some shady guy walked up next to me on the subway. He was staring at me intently for some reason. He pushed his thigh up against my leg and I felt a little sting. When I looked down to see what had stung me, I froze. I noticed that he was hiding a knife in his pocket.
He stood there for another few seconds before he walked away, presumably to terrorize someone else.
42. This Is A Hold-Up
I used to work in a cinema when I was a teenager. After cleaning and locking up, I had to go to the bank and deliver the cash to a bank box; around $8,000 worth. One day, I was locking the front door and I noticed it was a busy night in the pub across the other side of the alley. That meant there was way more cash than usual (I come from a Scandinavian town that is not too busy).
I was a little nervous because I had so much money on me. It made me paranoid...but it turned out that my anxiety was valid. All of a sudden, I heard someone say, “Hands up and give me the money!” When I turned around, a man was holding an object to my face. I was so scared, but upon closer look, it turned out to be nothing but his cellphone. The man was just making a joke. I got so visibly scared though that he excused himself. He walked off laughing though.
Man, I got scared. It was not a very funny joke to me. I don’t know why the owners thought that the teen who cleaned up popcorn could carry all of that cash.
43. I Think You’re In My Bed
I was staying at a motel out of town. I was in my room on the bed in my underwear (since I wasn’t expecting any company) and watching TV. The next thing I knew, the door opened and a guy walked halfway in. He stopped and we just kind of stared at each other. I was freaking out internally. I didn’t know what he was planning on doing.
I was completely stuck in fear. He looked at me and then mumbled, "What the…" Then he looked at the door number then his key card then back at the door number. He was like, “They told me my room was 223.” I cleared the fear in my throat enough to go, “Uh, I’ve been here all day. You might want to go tell them there is a mistake.”
He just nodded his head, closed the door, and walked out. He was probably just as scared as I was.
44. The Not So Godly Father
About ten years ago, I was attending my sister’s wedding. This older guy, very Italian-looking (think of a mob boss) who I’d never even seen before came up to me. He said, “Do you remember me from a couple of years ago at the fair?” I said, “No?” I honestly didn’t at all. He said, “It’s probably better that you don’t,” and then laughed and walked away.
I was just standing there so confused. I still have no idea what that was about.
45. Stalking Interrupted
I was at a hardware store near my house. Some dude, looking pretty frazzled in old camo shorts and a shirt, was hitting on women there. I’m a dude, so I thought that he would leave me alone. I was wrong about that. As I was walking down the main aisle, I passed him and apparently interrupted his conversation with some lady.
So he started following me down the main aisle tossing quarters at every fixture near me. Eventually, I stopped walking and turned around to face this dude. I’m not confrontational by any means, but something just kind of hit a nerve. In my manliest voice, I said, “Do we have a problem?” I guess it worked because the dude looked super startled.
He walked away from me as fast as he could. I ended up reporting it to the manager. I don’t what he was doing, but I hope he left and stopped hitting on random women.
46. Road Rage Revenge
This happened to me back in 2011. I was about eight and a half months pregnant, just about ready to pop. I was driving to an OB/GYN appointment by myself. Out of nowhere, this man pulled out directly in front of me. Luckily, the right lane was empty, so I whipped over just in time. I would have plowed directly into the back of his big SUV with my little sedan if I hadn't.
I was very shaken up because his actions had endangered me and my unborn baby. In my frustration, I blew my horn. Apparently, that was not a good idea—that angered him because he then followed me for several miles trying to run me off the road. He only stopped when he saw a squad car. I never got a good look at him, but strangers on the road can be the most dangerous.
47. Raindrops Keep Falling
I was once driving in through the country and it was pouring rain in the middle of the night. I had to drive very slowly as I couldn’t see any of the signs on the road (this was before GPS). At one point, the rain fell so hard that I even had to pull over to the side of the road to read the signs and figure out if I was going in the right direction.
I didn’t get out of my car due to the rain, so I just craned my neck forward, trying to make out where I was. That's when my passenger door suddenly opened. When I looked over to my right, my blood ran cold. This random man got inside my car, sat down, and looked at me. I instinctively started yelling and screaming at the top of my lungs.
I flailed my arms around in case the guy tried to attack me. He started screaming as well and then jumped out of my car as quickly as he had come in. I quickly leaned over, closed the passenger door, and sped off down the road. I was breathing so heavily trying my best to calm down, nearly in tears.
I kept replaying that moment in my head for the rest of my drive and I suddenly remembered that the man had smiled at me. That’s when it dawned on me. That guy had probably been a hitchhiker that I hadn’t seen who thought that I was pulling over to give him a lift. Only, once he got in my car, I greeted him by screaming and trying to hit him.
It was probably the scariest encounter with a stranger I’ve ever had—his too. Turns out, we were both harmless...I think.
48. Crocodile Tears
When I was 14, I went for a walk by myself on a dirt path. I passed some guy who was just sitting on a rock in the middle of the forest. I didn’t make eye contact with him, but I could see that he was crying. I wanted to help, but my gut told me not to. Three days later, I turned on the news and saw his picture. That's when I learned a shocking truth about that man—he had savagely slaughtered his wife and five-year-old daughter.
49. I’m Just A Nice Old Lady
An older woman approached me on campus one day. She was asking me to take her to this spot in town since she didn’t know where it was. I told her no (it was a new city for me and she gave off bad vibes). She insisted that it was right around the corner, not too far. That seemed even stranger to me as all of a sudden, she knew where was going.
I refused again and she hesitated but then walked off. An older guy asked her if she needed directions, only for her to walk straight past him. I just thought it was strange but I didn’t really think about it. The next week, I checked my phone when I get to class and someone posted an article that sent a chill down my spine.
The article was about an older woman who had ties to multiple cases of human trafficking. She had just been apprehended in a nearby town. From the description alone, I knew it was the woman I had talked to.
50. Car Trouble
I was about 10 years old when this happened. I was going back home from the park with my sister. Being the stubborn younger sibling, she purposely walked 20 meters ahead so that nobody would think we were together. She rounded the corner and, a second later, I heard a blood-curdling scream.
I never covered 20 meters so fast in my life. When I rounded the corner, there was a man holding my sister by her throat, dragging her into an opened car parked nearby. When he saw me advancing and yelling incomprehensibly—I honestly don’t know what I yelled, I was so scared out of my wits—he realized that we were together. He dropped my sister, jumped into the car, and drove off.
She had fingerprint-shaped bruises on her throat for days.
Sources: Reddit,
