People Are Sharing The Terrifying Encounters They Had With Total Strangers, And I'm Convinced They Narrowly Escaped With Their Lives
By Hannah Marder,
12 days ago
Recently, Reddit user The-Original-Mak asked , "What's the creepiest encounter you've had with a complete stranger that still gives you chills?" and the stories are going to keep me up at night. Here are some of the most creepy.
1. "One night, a man outside a bar approached my girlfriend and me. He asked if we had heard about 'the murders in New Brighton.' We, of course, had not. He went on to explain that his girlfriend had been killed. The next morning, I saw that he had been arrested for killing her."
2. "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 drugs...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 saw her mugshot on TV. She had bludgeoned to death an older lady with a hammer in the woman's home and robbed her. She committed this crime the night before visiting our dealership. So the jewelry she was wearing...purchasing her getaway 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."
3. "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, 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 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."
4. "I was about 10, getting back home from the park with my sister. Being the stubborn younger 'I don't need an older sister playing mom to me' sibling, she walked 20 meters ahead so nobody would even THINK we were together. She rounded the corner, and I heard a blood-curdling scream. I've never covered 20 meters so fast in my life. I rounded the corner, and there was a man holding my sister by her throat, dragging her into an open car parked nearby. When he saw me advancing and yelling incomprehensibly (I honestly don't know what I yelled; I was scared out of my wits) and he realized there were two of us, he dropped her, jumped into the car, and drove off. She had fingerprint-shaped bruises on her throat for days."
5. "I was a registered massage therapist for seven years and had just opened my own practice. I was renting space at a clinic, and other practitioners would often cross-refer clients for other services. One of the naturopathic doctor's clients asked her for my work schedule because he wanted 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 was single or had a husband and when 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 was 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 making 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 that if he was really this interested in knowing my schedule, he could look at my website. He then told me he had scheduled an appointment with me for the following week and 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 was 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 nonchalantly, telling me to have a good day and that, again, he was 'so excited' about our appointment.
From there, I called the police. I explained to them what had happened. They instructed me to keep his scheduled appointment, and then they showed up and arrested him right outside my office door. He was charged and found guilty of sexually assaulting 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 against him, and just as 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."
6. "In high school, I worked at a burger joint. I was having a rough day and 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 left with his cup of ice, went out to his white van, poured a beer into that cup, and drove away. I saw his face on the news a few weeks later. He was part of a sex trafficking ring that was busted."
7. "I used to always shop at this one Target years ago, and I started to notice a man who 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. On my last trip to Target, I was in the CD section, and he came up next to me, talking about CDs. Something in my gut told me to get as 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 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 off, 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 sends 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 suspected was for me. The 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 five years old with a note to him on the back of the picture from me. Apparently, we had 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)."
8. "My SO went mountain biking back in a large area of power lines, woods, and fields. So I took the two dogs — one white lab chow mix and one wolf husky mix. He went way ahead, and I got my stuff together and went out to walk. I was walking, and two sketchy guys came driving up in a pickup out of nowhere. They asked if I knew 'how to get to blah blah,' and I didn't know what they meant, so I said, 'No, but a bunch of guys 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' 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 asking a few more questions that didn't mean anything. The adult dog growled low. 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 asked where the bikers were, and I said, 'I think they were just over the hill because this is the spot they marked as the finish line.' Every hair on my own body felt stiff. The talker 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' hair was 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 the dogs invisible 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 years 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 of me come up with any description other than that they were both white, and both gave me and two dogs the chills.
I'm glad I was really there with my SO, though, because if I had been alone, they'd likely have been waiting at my car, and it was a semi-secluded access spot to the area."
9. "I was pregnant with my first child in 2001. Right before my due date (I was obviously really pregnant), I was shopping at Walmart, and I started to notice this woman in every aisle I went into. 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 on 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, and 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, but she was so insistent that she became 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 check out, and so did she. She got out before me, and I watched her racewalk out of the store. 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. The husband rolled down the window and said, "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 ass 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 I have felt that level of fear in my life."
10. "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!'"
"Sure enough, the police show up 15 minutes later, and he's still standing there with his clipboard. The police take his ID, get on the radio, and come back 10 minutes later to say, 'Sir, there is no record of you working for the local census. You will need to vacate the premises.' Absolutely bizarre experience."
11. "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 got; I was pregnant, and 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. The dude continued to walk in my direction, claiming he just wanted to help. I continued to say, 'No, I don't 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, leaped over the backseat, 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 who was all black and looked far less intimidating 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 and would not let me out of her sight."
12. "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 the horror: he told me he'd spent his 20s traveling the world beating up and torturing sex workers (and there is no doubt in my mind that he had killed, 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 tumor: 'Son, I've got all the pain money can buy.'"
"This guy came over to me at an Internet cafe 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, fucked while on fire, being forced to have sex with pigs, all sorts; and some shitty pencil-type drawings to accompany some of the stories. Sick, sick shit — 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 of 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."
13. "When I was in third grade, I was on a local community service soccer team. Normally, parents would coach, but the parent who'd done the last coach position was sick that day, so the community service center sent a random middle-aged woman. ... Well, it also happened to be the birthday of my best friend (I'll call her 'Milly' for this), 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 — super excited and talking nonstop about the sleepover at Milly's. About halfway through the game, the assistant coach lady called me over by name, and my instincts instantly knew something was off because my stomach had dropped."
I went over to her reluctantly and stood a couple of 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 Milly's 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 mom's car, okay?' And thankfully, she didn't question me, and we rocketed to her mom's 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 Milly's mom???' she looked super confused and said, 'Uh yes I am, why?' I explained what happened while on the drive home to Milly's, 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 guess they figured kids just lie about that stuff? I don't really know, to be honest). 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."
14. "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."
15. "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 me the phone, just telling him I had left, thank god. He came back the next day and started asking me personal questions. I was very vague and then started helping other customers. He left and CAME BACK THE NEXT DAY — I had to get management involved. He was standing behind a pole, just watching me. I had to be walked to my car every night for about a month. I would call my now-husband every night on the way home, and I lived in an apartment building with another coworker whose husband would literally walk me to my door. Ugh, I still feel like he's watching me sometimes, and this was about four years ago."
16. "I worked in a library during grad school, and this man came into my section asking to use some older technology we still had available. It was right after opening one morning, and I was the only one available to teach him to use some of the machines. He was there almost every day, and if I wasn't working that day, he would leave. He figured out my schedule and that I worked as soon as the library opened on certain days. When I was there, he would have many questions and 'difficulties' with the machines. One morning, when I was supposed to be at work but had an engagement that made me about 30 minutes late, he discovered my large male coworker instead. He had spent the night hidden in the bathroom by my station and hadn't left all night so the motion detectors wouldn't go off."
"He had also taken a 'bath' in the bathroom. The police were called, and when I arrived, he was being led to the police car, screaming for me. Needless to say, he was banned from ever entering the library again. I also never worked alone again (alone meaning alone in my section on my floor because it was a massive library) and was always scheduled with a male coworker and another administrator for openings."
17. "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 shit out of me."
18. "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 found it funny and thought he was full of shit. He ended up murdering his wife by bashing her head in with a hammer."
19. "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."
20. "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 the car reach the other end of the road and turn around 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, pulled the door closed, crawled under a tarp 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 slammed, and the engine revved 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."
21. "Back in high school, I was waiting for my Dad to pick me up. He got stuck at work, so he was running late, and I was waiting outside the main entrance. There were a couple kids hanging around, but they were being slowly picked up. After a bit, an older gentleman (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. 'Are you sure you're not Ashley? We met on the Internet. You seem just like her.' (To be honest, 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. Within range of the guy hearing, I mentioned some guy was waiting for a girl. 'That's weird. Stay away from him,' he said, and we hung up.
The man 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 and 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, and get me to go down the road with him. Thank goodness I saw my dad's truck in the distance and started walking towards him.
I hopped in. He saw the man and asked, 'Is that the guy you mentioned? Was he bothering you? You can tell me.' I replied, '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 unhoused.) I could have called the police. I could have insisted that woman take me down the road to the library. Since that night, 20-plus years ago, I have replayed it over and over thousands of times. But I use the story 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."
22. "I worked in the grocery and got off at 1 a.m. One night, I was headed home and realized I was being followed, so I drove around an empty city looking for someone to help (pre-cell phones). I started speeding through the streets, hoping to attract cops, but no one was around. I ended up parking in my boss’s driveway and honking my horn (I was 20, dumb, and scared). STILL, no one came out to help, but the man driving got out and said he 'just wanted to talk to me.' He saw me working, thought I was cute, and wanted to ask me out. I said he could visit during store hours, not chase me around town in the middle of the night. He was drunk and said I was overreacting, but the blow-off somehow worked. I never saw him again, thank god. My boss was annoyed that I woke him up."
"Then there was the old man customer who would come in on a scooter chair wearing shorts, exposing himself to kids in the aisles. I told him to leave, but my bosses told me to let it go. He knew I saw what he was doing and just smiled as he got away with it. I hated that job and all the creeps that came along with it."
23. "I was 17 and 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 was walking, I never realized someone was following me until a cop started rapidly walking toward me from the right. Just as the person following me was about to grab me, the cop grabbed his arm and stopped him. My stomach dropped, and I just kept walking, letting the cop do his job."
— u/BMagni
24. "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. I 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, which 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."
25. "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 want to leave and hang out somewhere else. At this point, she tells me her 'brother' (some similar-aged guy she was with) would drive us around and then bring me home. I was super weirded out and had a gut feeling that it wasn't really her brother (maybe her boyfriend/partner in crime). I told them I already had a ride home from my friends and was all set. She got angry and insisted I come with them, saying they'd get me home safe and that I had 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."
26. "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 shit can happen so fast."
27. "I (f) enjoy a beer at a bar by myself from time to time. Either just to be alone or maybe chat with a bartender if they're feeling social. Occasionally, I'll get some unwanted attention, but a casual mention of my boyfriend usually 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. ... 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 house, who gave me some pepper spray just in case (it's 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 nearby and just lacked social skills, but the way he said 'I ALWAYS see you' still gives me chills."
28. "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."
29. "A few years ago, I went to a farmers market event with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law, and 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."
— u/jmp325
30. "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 about 2 hours later, and I was like wtf."
"This was downtown Louisville in 2012-13 or so. His face was also maybe two inches from mine, and he was bobbing his head side to side with eye contact while he did it. If I weren't so high, I probably would have fought him and gotten stabbed a few times. He didn't ask for anything — also, he was wearing a long black duster but looked like a nerd — scrawny dude.
High me thought it was one of my friends from the bar I just left fucking with me, so that was another reason I never registered I was in danger."
31. "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."
32. "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."
33. "I was like 15 with two of my friends, and we snuck out in the middle of the night to meet a boy in a neighboring neighborhood. We lived in the 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 fucked up, and started charging at us. My two friends ran, and I was frozen; my other friend came back, grabbed me, pulled me away, and sprinted to a different neighborhood. Then we hid in the bushes next to the front door of a different house, and I kept begging my friends to let me ring their doorbell for help. 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."
34. Finally, we'll end with a reminder: "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."
What's the creepiest encounter you've had with a stranger? Let us know in the comments.
Submissions have been edited for length/clarity.
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